March 2, 2001 Banker Told to Submit Records
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
A federal judge has ordered the chairman of the Bank of New York Company
, Thomas A. Renyi, to surrender telephone records, tax returns and credit card statements in a lawsuit by shareholders that accuses him and 18 other officials of roles in a money laundering scheme. Lawyers for Mr. Renyi and the bank argued at a hearing yesterday that lawyers representing the plaintiffs were invading Mr. Renyi's privacy and would find nothing to corroborate their claims. The bank also feared that witnesses who said Mr. Renyi had plotted to launder money would use the records to "construct perjured testimony and forged documents" to support their accusations, his lawyer, Richard Klapper, said.
But Judge Denny Chin of the United States District Court in Manhattan said the plaintiffs were entitled to the records. He told Mr. Renyi to turn over eight years of phone records, three years of tax returns and credit card statements reflecting overseas travel. Mr. Renyi must also submit to questioning by the plaintiffs' lawyers.
"The documents are to be produced within two weeks from today," Judge Chin said.
Money laundering allows criminals to move proceeds from drug deals and other crimes through the banking system to hide its original source.
The lawsuit contends that Bank of New York
officers acted recklessly when the bank expanded its correspondent banking business in Russia. Officials are accused of having allowed the bank to launder money in violation of currency laws, and Mr. Renyi is accused of receiving secret payments from offshore accounts used to launder money. Bank of New York called the case baseless and the charges "scurrilous."
American Russian
