& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

‘Legal tangles’ delay decision on BCCI

By SY Bakht
Reopening of the scandal-hit Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) branches tn Bangladesh is being delayed because of intricate legal problems.
According to a Finance Ministry official, some 'complicated legal tangles' need to be sorted out before the local BCCI operations can be re-
started tn any form.
However, the government is considering all options jo refloat the local BCCI branches by the second week of February, he added.
He said that four options were being actively considered by the government to Initiate the process of forming a new Institution using local BCCI op-
erations as a nucleus.
Earlier, setting up of a new bank with the three local branches of BCCI. including its total assets and liabilities, emerged as the strongest option before the government, banking sources said.
The four options being considered by the government include authorising the Bangladesh Bank to run the BCCI branches as a commercial bank, the Finance Ministry of ftcial noted.
The other three options under consideration are merger with commercial banks, sale to local entrepreneurs and liquidation of the three branches of the BCCI. he said, adding "We will form a new bank out of the BCCI as soon as possible".
Arrangement with the depositors would also be made to refloat the bank under any of the options, he pointed out.
About 40.000 depositors In Bangladesh had over Taka 530 crore with the three BCCI branches in Dhaka. Chittagong and Khulna when it was closed by the Bangladesh Bank July 6 last year.
Agranl Bank disbursed a total of about Taka 60 crore to local BCCI depositors after the government authorised the bank to pay each depositor Taka 50.000 per account and to return all deposits of diplomats. The bank was also au-1 thorised to handle all the pending Letters of Credtt(LCs) accounts of the BCCI.
The Luxembourg-based BCCI. that once had more than 20 billion US dollars in assets ' and branches in 69 countries, collapsed last year and regulators around the world seized the the bank's assets following a similar action taken by the Bank of England on July 5 last
Agency reports said that the British court ordered the liquidation of BCCI operations there January 14. paving the way for creditors to get back some of their money.
The British court order followed a similar liquidation order by the commercial court of Luxembourg of BCCI SA. one of the two subsidiaries of BCCI through which it operated tn Britain. United Arab Emirates. Germany. Netherlands. Jordan and Yemen.
A second Luxembourg-based BCCI subsidiary. BCCI Overseas. owned branches elsewhere In the world including those in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile. BCC! operations in Sri Lanka. Mauritius. Panama. Nigeria and Zambia have already been re floated under new arrangements. Similar moves are also being undertaken by the authorities In Pakistan and Hong Kong.