BANKING

12 BCCI Executives Convicted of Fraud: The founder and 11 other former top executives of the collapsed Bank of Credit and Commerce International were convicted in a criminal trial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and given prison sentences ranging from three to 14 years. Charges included dissipating shareholder funds, forging bank records and granting fictitious loans. In response to a separate civil suit filed by the Abu Dhabi government, whose ruling family owned 77.4% of BCCI shares, they were also ordered to pay $9.13 billion in restitution. A 13th defendant was acquitted. International regulators shut down BCCI in 1991 after auditors reported extensive fraud and loan losses in a scandal that seriously undermined the international financial system.