Russian Mob Suspected of Money Laundering

A kingpin of Russian organized crime is believed to have cycled billions of dollars in illicit funds through Bank of New York in a massive money-laundering scheme, according to U.S. officials. Government sources said Semion Mogilevich, dubbed the “brainy don,” is the leader of a ruthless Russian mob family known as the Red Mafia that is said to be behind the transfer of money through the bank. His global crime cartel traffics in military weapons, drugs, prostitutes and schemes to dump toxic waste from America in Russia, according to published reports. The FBI and the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York are leading one of the largest money-laundering investigations ever. Officials involved in the probe declined to comment on the case, which was disclosed in Thursday’s New York Times. Government sources did say that Bank of New York contacted federal authorities about suspicious activities in various accounts, but only after the bank’s records were subpoenaed by the U.S. attorney. No arrests have been made.