Cuomo intervened in BNP deal to get $1 billion more for NY state fund
By Karen Freifeld and Aruna Viswanatha, Reuters
(Reuters) - Only days before U.S. authorities reached a landmark $8.97 billion settlement with BNP Paribas over the bank's dealings with countries subject to U.S. sanctions, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo intervened to ensure the state government got a much bigger share of the proceeds, according to three people familiar with the situation.
One of these people said Cuomo called Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan District Attorney, on June 27 to seek a big chunk of the $2.2 billion that was going to be available to Vance to tap for law enforcement projects.
Vance eventually agreed that $1.05 billion of the $2.2 billion would go into the state's coffers because otherwise the whole deal could be jeopardized, this person said. The settlement was announced on Monday, June 30, after last-minute negotiations over the preceding weekend.
The state's general fund was already set to receive $2.24 billion from a state regulator's piece of the settlement, and the eleventh-hour deal pushed the state's take up to $3.29 billion. That change was contained in a side agreement signed by Vance on June 29, and a lawyer for Cuomo on June 30.
http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-80950419/