Swindles

Volkswagen executives had been feeling justifiably proud that their Golf model has become the best-selling car in Europe. Last week the corporate backslapping suddenly stopped. The West German firm announced that it had been the victim of a swindle that would cost it nearly $260 million. Though VW provided no details, financial analysts believe the money was fraudulently lost by traders who were involved in the company's continuous exchanges of dollars and other currencies for deutsche marks.

The carmaker said it had filed a criminal complaint against "unidentified persons." VW also suspended six executives who had authority over the company's currency-trading operations, apparently for not catching the swindle in progress.