BAHRAIN (PTI): Twelve of the 13 former executives of the collapsed Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) were recently sentenced up to 14 year jail term by a Criminal court in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab emirates for their role in the massive fraud that closed down the bank. ‘The 13th defendant 66-year old Iqbal Ahmed Rizvi who was on bail because of his poor health had been acquitted by the court.

‘The accused most of them British citizens of Pakistani origin faced charges of forgery breach Of trust setting up factious loans to falsifying accounts-leading to the collapse of the bank in 1991 that cost depositors billions of dollars.

The founder of the bank Agha Hassan Abedi said to be bidden in his home in the Pakistan city of Lahore and former BCCI treasurer Zia din Ali Akbar currently Serving a six-year prison sentence in Britain on related charges were tried and sentenced by the court in Absentia.

Article extracted from this publication >> July 1, 1994