BANKING & FINANCE - Oct. 11, 1993

BCCI Executives Plead Innocent: Eleven top executives of the defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International pleaded innocent to charges stemming from the biggest collapse in world banking history. Two other BCCI officials, including the bank’s founder, were charged in absentia on Saturday, the opening day of the trial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The charges include forgery, breach of trust and squandering depositor and shareholder funds. The trial is scheduled to resume Nov. 13. Regulators in numerous countries closed the Abu Dhabi-based bank in July, 1991, after audits revealed extensive fraud, improper loans and deceptive accounting. Losses to depositors in 70 countries are estimated at more than $10 billion. Authorities said BCCI, founded in 1972, had evolved into a global criminal enterprise.