LONDON, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- The Bank of England went to court Tuesday to defend its role -- and reputation -- in the world's biggest bank fraud.
The case of the liquidator of Bank of Credit and Commerce International versus the Bank of England, which has taken more than a decade to come to court, is expected to last 18 months and could cost the bank $1.85 billion in damages.
The bank, owned by Middle East interests, collapsed in 1991 owing $18.5 billion.
Deloitte & Touche, the BCCI liquidators, say Bank of England officials recklessly put depositors at risk.
Though the bank has statutory immunity against charges of negligence, the liquidators have won the right to bring the case as a more demanding "misfeasance in public office" claim, the Financial Times reported.
Since BCCI's collapse, D&T has recovered and repaid to creditors about 75 percent of their money. But if the liquidators can prove the Bank's misfeasance stretched back to the first BCCI licensing decision in 1980, damages against the bank, including interest, could yield another 1 billion pounds (nearly $550 million).
