Russian court adjourns Bank of NY case to June 30

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court adjourned until June 30 hearings in a $22.5 billion lawsuit brought by Russia's customs service against the Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK.N), a lawyer for the plaintiff said on Monday.

Russia's Federal Customs Service filed the case in May 2007, claiming $22.5 billion in damages related to a money-laundering case in the United States against a Bank of New York vice-president in 2000.

"The two sides taking part in the trial formulated the same questions to (legal) experts, and time is needed to answer them," Maxim Smal, a lawyer representing the customs service, told Reuters.

"Any further decision is then to be taken according to the answers of these experts," he added. He did not give details.

"I believe the case is nearing an end, and if not June 30, then a subsequent hearing may be the last one," Smal said.

The case in the United States ended in 2006 after the vice-president admitted helping launder $7 billion from Russia in the late 1990s through dummy companies and Bank of New York accounts set up by her husband.

The Russian government says it was never compensated for the massive flight of capital, but its claim has been bogged down in procedural wrangling for a year. Court hearings have been adjourned repeatedly.

(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Quentin Bryar)