QUESTION: What is BCCI?

ANSWER: BCCI stands for Bank of Credit and Commerce International, although since it became embroiled in scandal, wags have renamed it "Bank of Crooks and Criminals International."

Over the years, BCCI enjoyed acclaim in developing nations for extending credit in areas Western banks avoided. It was reputed to be more sympathetic to Third World economic problems than what are often seen in developing nations as the indifferent financial institutions of the industrialized world. It developed close relationships to central banks in developing countries, where officials often deposited funds in BCCI accounts.

But it also has been linked for years to criminal enterprises--tied, for example, to drug-related money-laundering activities, including some involving former Panamanian dictator Manuel A. Noriega. In 1990, two of its units pleaded guilty in federal court in Tampa, Fla., to money laundering. Later that year, six current and former BCCI employees were convicted of conspiring to launder $32 million in cocaine money.

Last July 5, banking regulators from around the world teamed up to shut down most BCCI operations, alleging widespread fraud.

What is unique about BCCI is not its size but its reach. BCCI's operations and influence stretch throughout the world to about 70 countries and 1 million depositors. Its principal operations are based in Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands, two areas with some of the world's most lax banking regulations.

With $20 billion in assets, the bank is not especially big by world standards. Indeed, it is smaller than California's four largest banks--BankAmerica, Security Pacific National Bank, Wells Fargo and First Interstate.

Q. What is BCCI accused of?

A. BCCI's seizure was prompted by the alleged disappearance of billions of dollars. Some investigators estimate that associated losses could be as high as $15 billion, which would make it by far history's biggest banking scandal.

Where all of that money went is still a mystery. The seizure followed an audit by the accounting firm Price Waterhouse that showed, among other things, that the bank failed to record deposits, apparently in an effort to camouflage huge losses on bad loans and investments. In addition, British authorities allege that BCCI assisted people in dodging taxes by falsifying transaction records.