BridgeNews Exclusive: Russia's Inkombank Ran Illegal US Banking Operation

Business Wire, Oct 12, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 12, 1999--

BridgeNews, the independent news agency division of Bridge Information Systems, exclusively reported today that Russia's now-insolvent Inkombank ran an illegal banking operation in New York between 1994 and 1996, using a network of front companies and accounts at US banks including Citibank, BankAmerica International and Bank of New York.

Inkombank, which US intelligence and Russian banking authorities have reportedly linked to organized crime, used the network to solicit deposits in the US and to channel funds between Moscow and New York, according to documents obtained by BRIDGE. Inkombank applied for, but never received, a license to operate in New York.

The operations identified by BRIDGE closely resemble other transactions that are the target of an indictment unsealed last week by the US Attorney in Manhattan as part of the international investigation into alleged money laundering by Russian organized crime.

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