MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Federal Customs Service said on Wednesday it was ready to sign a deal with the Bank of New York to settle its $22.5 billion money laundering suit against the U.S.-based banking giant.
"We have come to a compromise on this issue and you'll learn about it in the coming days," Andrei Belyaninov, head of the Federal Customs Service, said.
The Wall Street Journal reported in mid-September that the Bank of New York Mellon was near a deal to settle a lawsuit brought by Russia after the bank offered to restart trade-finance lending once the suit was resolved.
Russia's Federal Customs Service filed the lawsuit in Moscow in May 2007 after accusing the bank of channeling funds received for exports to Russia in the late 1990s through accounts held at the bank.
The suit sought damages from the bank related to a U.S. Justice Department investigation in which a Bank of New York vice president allegedly helped to transfer $7 billion out of Russia in the late 1990s.
Under the terms of an amicable settlement agreement, BNY will offer Russia a $4 billion concessional credit line.
