Lucy Edwards, a former bank vice president, and husband Peter Berlin, the man behind the companies that opened the accounts, traveled from their home in London to face criminal money-laundering, fraud and bribery charges, sources said. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said there will be a court proceeding in the case Wednesday morning before U.S. District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram. The couple returned of their own accord, indicating they may plead guilty to some charges. The arrests represent a breakthrough in a sprawling case that began as a kidnapping investigation in Russia and, over the past year, became one of the largest money-laundering examinations ever.
Investigators hope they have persuaded the couple to cooperate in untangling the scheme.
Some reports last August suggested that the bulk of the money came from Russian mobsters. But law enforcement officials, working with investigators abroad and most of the FBI offices, believe the money actually represents Russian capital flight and tax evasion, as well as the fruit of other illegal activity. The investigation spurred congressional hearings, political recriminations in Washington and Moscow, and investigations in the United States, Russia and Switzerland. Investigators have also probed international loans and the activities of Kremlin officials for ties to the case. In October, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment of the couple and Aleksey Volkov, a business associate of Berlin's.