Bank of New York Ex-Employee Charged

A former Bank of New York employee was charged with making false statements to the FBI in its investigation into allegations of money laundering. Svetlana Kudryavtsev, an associate in the bank’s international division who was fired amid the widening investigation, is accused of lying to federal agents about payments she received from two Russian emigres who are also targets of the inquiry. A federal grand jury has indicted those two emigres, former bank employee Lucy Edwards and her husband, Peter Berlin, accusing them of conspiring to illegally transfer about $7 billion through the bank in last three years. Investigators believe some of the money represented proceeds of Russian organized crime. The complaint filed Tuesday alleges that Kudryavtsev initially told investigators that she had never received any money from Edwards or Berlin and knew nothing of several businesses tied to Berlin. But agents say they later found evidence that she had received more than $30,000 from Berlin and Edwards since 1995, and that in her work area was found more than 30 wire transfer authorization forms that were blank except for Berlin’s signature. Kudryavtsev made an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate in New York and was released on $30,000 bail.