The leader of New York state's top financial regulatory agency blasted efforts by Purdue Pharma on Monday to pay out $34 million in bonuses to its employees as part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings, citing the state's ongoing investigation into the opioid industry.

New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell urged a federal bankruptcy judge in a letter to reject the company's request, citing the damage done through the country's opioid crisis.

"Every dollar available should be used to recompense victims, and it would be inequitable, to say the very least, if the amount of the estate left to redress the tremendous harm suffered by those victims was diminished because employees were paid large sums upon exceeding expectations in causing that very harm," Lacewell wrote.