A criminal probe is being carried out by the FBI and Department of Justice (DoJ) into Bank of America Corp.'s purchase of Merrill Lynch last year. It has been six months since the investigation is being conducted.

Though a BoFA spokesman refused to confirm whether the FBI or Justice Department were investigating, spokesman for the FBI and DoJ neither confirmed nor denied that a probe was under way.

Apart from the FBI and DoJ, other authorities, including the New York Attorney General's office, are also investigating the deal. The New York Attorney General's office had accused the bank of misleading shareholders about losses and bonus payments at the investment bank.

Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri said: "We have provided thousands of documents and had numerous meetings with various government agencies regarding the Merrill Lynch transaction. And we continue to believe that there is no basis for charges against the company or individuals on the management team."

The state still has an ongoing investigation into Bank of American, specified Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Attorney General, Roy Cooper, who held no knowledge regarding any other probes. No comments could be received from the U. S. attorney's office in North Carolina's western district.

BoFA was earlier accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to disclose information to shareholders about bonuses paid to Merrill employees; however, the settlement of civil fraud charges against the bank was arrived at last month.

But the settlement was rejected by a federal judge, U. S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, in New York on Monday, as he considered it to be unfair to shareholders. Apart from this, he also blamed the SEC for not pursuing charges against bank officials and issued a scathing rebuke to the agency. The judge also called for a trial in the case to commence on Feb. 1.

"Bank of America agreed to buy Merrill Lynch a year ago this week, at the height of the credit crisis and just as Lehman Brothers was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection. It was later revealed that Merrill, with the knowledge of Bank of America executives, paid Merrill employees $3.6 billion in bonuses just before the deal closed on Jan. 1, even though the bank lost $27.6 billion that year," a well-known newspaper noted.