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BCCI case:

lawyer conclude

arguments

ABU DHABI: Lawyers for former officials of the collapsed bank BCCI on Wednesday ended closing arguments in an appeal against jail terms and some $9 billion in civil damages, attorneys said.

"The court will issue a verdict on June 9. Lawyers have finished their final arguments," said an attorney after Wednesday's hearing.

Thirteen former officials of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) were tried on charges including fraud, forgery and misappropriation of funds in Abu Dhabi, where the disgraced bank had its main offices.

All but one of the officials were sentenced in 1994 to prison terms and civil damages were set at about $9 billion.

Of the 12 who were sentenced, eight have served their terms but are not allowed to leave the UAE while their appeal proceedings continue.

Only two former BCCI officials -- Hassan Mahmoud Kazmi and Abdul Hafeez Mohammed Ahmed -- remain in jail in the UAE. They have repeatedly appealed for release based on health grounds.

The remaining two were sentenced in absentia. One has since died and the other is in a U.S. prison.

Defence lawyers appealed against the sentences.

Prosecutors are appealing against the single not guilty sentence while lawyers for civil claimants, Abu Dhabi majority shareholders, are seeking damages.

The Abu Dhabi government, BCCI's biggest shareholder, has agreed to pay $1.5 billion to meet claims by some creditors.

BCCI, founded in Luxembourg in 1972, collapsed in 1991 when evidence emerged of massive and widespread fraud.

Abu Dhabi's ruling family invested heavily in the bank and faces huge liability claims from thousands of depositors around the world after its collapse.-Reuter