NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants a state judge to force former Merrill Lynch & Co. chief executive officer John Thain to disclose names of employees who got $3.6 billion in bonuses just before the firm merged with Bank of America Corp.

Thain, 53, refused in a deposition held in Cuomo's office last week to identify all but five executives who got the bonus pay in December, citing orders from Bank of America's lawyers, according to a motion and a transcript of a deposition provided yesterday by Cuomo's office. The filing of the papers in New York state court in Manhattan couldn't be immediately confirmed.

"I've been directed not to disclose by the company individual names other than the names of the top people," said Thain's attorney, Andrew Levander, according to a transcript of the deposition. "I don't want to have him sued by the company for saying that he's violating someone's privacy."

Cuomo has been examining whether Merrill broke securities laws when it paid the bonuses. He is cooperating with US Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky in a federal probe of executive pay at banks that received money from the US Treasury's Troubled Assets Relief Programme. Merrill and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America have received approximately $45 billion in TARP money.

Cuomo said in the document that Bank of America wasn't empowered to bar Thain, an ex-employee with no severance contract, from answering the questions. The five individuals that Bank of America permitted Thain to discuss were among executives who didn't receive a bonus — "a meaningless gesture", according to Cuomo's filing.

"Thain has cooperated and will continue to cooperate" with Cuomo, said Levander, a lawyer with Dechert LLP in New York, in an interview. While Thain is "perfectly happy" to provide the names Cuomo is seeking, the lawyer said Bank of America has objected, saying the information is "confidential".

Bank of America spokesman Scott Silvestri didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.