IMF Is Investigating Loans to Russia

The International Monetary Fund said it is looking into whether some of its loans to Russia may have been diverted in a money-laundering scheme that investigators say may have involved Bank of New York Co. The IMF said that its loan payments to Russia did not go through Bank of New York, that the money went directly to Russian accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Germany’s central bank and then to the central bank of Russia. “No payments were made to any institution other than the central bank of Russia,� IMF spokesman Graham Newman said. Nevertheless, “the allegations of money laundering in Russia are extremely serious, and we are looking further into the matter,� he said. The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified people, reported that Bank of New York and other banks may have helped divert $200 million from IMF-backed loans to Russia as part of a wider money-laundering operation. Bank of New York is helping federal prosecutors investigate whether bank facilities were used to transfer funds from Russia to other countries. The bank said last week that two employees are on leave until the investigation is completed. The New York Times identified the two as members of the bank’s Eastern European division who are spouses of Russian businessmen. Investigators believe one of the businessmen controlled one of the bank accounts in question, the newspaper said.