Scandals: Cashing In on Blue Chips

In a drab Senate hearing room fittingly dominated by a vast map of the world, witnesses gave the first public testimony last week in the biggest and most brazen financial scandal of all time. Speaking in blunt terms that brought gasps from the packed chamber, they charged what TIME and other media reported in July: the criminal enterprise known as the Bank of Credit & Commerce International thrived as a $20 billion worldwide cash conduit for thugs ranging from terrorists to narcotraficantes, while Washington and other capitals turned a blind eye. "This is a story of big-time, big-money con artists," said...