How America's oldest bank became a money laundering hub for post-Soviet Russia
Generally speaking, there was no love lost between the aristocratically minded, deeply Russian Orthodox descendants of the first wave of Russian emigration and the third, mostly Jewish wave of Soviet emigrants that began pouring into the United States in the 1970s. History, family background, and prejudices played a part in the divide.
But as the Soviet Union liberalized, the emerging opportunity to make money in the homeland brought individuals from these two groups together. The results of this unexpected teamwork would be far reaching, with deep consequences for both Russia and the United States.
In 1988, after what the New York Times described as “one of the biggest, longest-running, and most hostile takeover battles in the United States,” the Bank of New York—America’s oldest bank—succeeded in taking over Irving Trust, one of the biggest.
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Before the merger, Irving Trust had been running an extensive business with Soviet banks. This business was supervised by a Russian émigré named Natasha Gurfinkel. A Soviet Jew who had moved to the United States, Natasha was one of those lucky enough to have had their applications approved by Brezhnev’s government in 1979. In 1986, Natasha got a job with Irving Trust, where she dealt with the lucrative trade with Soviet banks.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/compatriots-book-russia-money-laundering-soldatov-140030610.html
