BANKING & FINANCE - Jan. 9, 1992

Judge Won’t Halt BCCI Plea Bargain: In a victory for federal prosecutors, a bankruptcy judge in New York agreed not to block a plea bargain agreement between the government and scandal-plagued BCCI. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Garrity denied a move by the government of Panama and an insurance underwriter for Lloyd’s of London to halt the U.S. government’s plans to have Bank of Credit and Commerce International forfeit all its U.S. assets, estimated at $550 million. Garrity’s order clears the way for final approval of the controversial plea bargain today. A number of creditors had objected to the plea bargain.