Justice Department Probes Citicorp Link To Raul Salinas

NEW YORK - The Justice Department is investigating whether Citicorp, the nation's second-largest bank, violated U.S. money-laundering laws by helping the brother of former Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari move $80 million from Mexico to Switzerland.

Raul Salinas de Gortari, the former president's older brother, is imprisoned in Mexico on charges of financial wrongdoing and plotting the murder of a rival. The U.S. probe joins investigations by Swiss and Mexican authorities, who want to know where Raul Salinas got roughly $120 million that was transferred out of Mexico into foreign bank accounts. Citibank, a unit of Citicorp, handled about two-thirds of those transfers.

Prosecutors are trying to find out whether officials at Citibank violated money-laundering laws by taking deposits that bank officials knew were connected to illegal activity, Justice Department spokesman Carl Stern said.

A Citibank spokesman said the bank was cooperating with

authorities.