The Federal Customs Service on May 17 accused the bank of laundering untaxed profits of Russian exporters in 1996-99 and said it had filed a damages lawsuit with the Moscow Arbitration Court.
Andrei Belyaninov, the head of the Federal Customs Service, said he was optimistic about the prospects of his service's lawsuit against the bank, and saw no grounds to give it up.
Experts doubt that customs authorities will recover the entire sum they are claiming, but lawyers acting for the service say their claim is legitimate, as the bank has admitted that $7.5 billion was laundered, and under U.S. law the plaintiff can demand compensation three times greater than the original loss.
The bank, which pleaded guilty of violating U.S. laws on control over financial flows in 2005 and was ordered to pay a $38 million fine, dismissed the new claim.