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Smiles, Everyone!

We've previously written about the $22.5 billion RICO suit that Podhurst's Steven Marks brought in Russia against the Bank of New York Mellon, which involved an expert affidavit by none other than Michael Hanzman.

Forbes previously reported that the plaintiffs were looking at something like $800 million as a reasonable settlement figure.

Looks like that didn't go too well:

The Bank of New York Mellon has reached an agreement to settle a $22.5 billion lawsuit by the Russian government for $14 million, after the two sides made a separate deal for a trade-financing pact, a senior Russian government official said Wednesday.

Alexei Kudrin, the Russian finance minister, told legislators that the giant American bank will cover legal costs incurred during the two-year suit, which was tied to a late 1990s scandal in which a bank executive was accused of secretly moving $7.5 billion out of the country.

Mr. Kudrin said that the Russian Federal Customs Service, which brought the suit, had ?insufficient? evidence to win the case, which was being heard in Moscow Arbitration Court.

So the $14 million covers Steve's fees and costs, and that's it?

Ok, maybe that's not a bad result after all.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on September 16, 2009 (boomark / email).