Bank of NY may settle in (Russian) money laundering case

[UpInArms]

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-08-03T204052Z_01_N03712862_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-BANKOFNEWYORK-MONEYLAUNDERING.XML

NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Bank of New York Co. (BK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday it was reviewing a settlement proposal by federal prosecutors related to a Russian money laundering conspiracy.

The long-running investigation by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York relates to accounts at the bank once controlled by former bank executive Lucy Edwards, her husband Peter Berlin, and various associates.

Bank of New York said the probe concerns fund transfer activities in some accounts at the bank, principally involving wire transfers from Russian and other Eastern Europe sources.

Edwards, a former vice president in the bank's eastern European division, and Berlin pleaded guilty in February 2000 to charges that they were part of a money laundering conspiracy that moved $7 billion through accounts at the bank.

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