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40 - EVENTS/INTELLIGENCE_SCANDALS/BNL Scandal.md
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---
title: BNL Scandal
aliases:
- BNL Scandal
- Banca Nazionale del Lavoro scandal
- BNL-Atlanta
category: "Intelligence Scandal"
tags:
- Event
- Iraq
- CIA
- BNL
- IranContra
- Banking
summary: "The BNL scandal involved the Atlanta branch of Italy's Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, whose manager Christopher Drogoul extended approximately $5 billion in unauthorized loans to Saddam Hussein's Iraq between 1987 and 1989; subsequent investigations found CIA awareness of or involvement in the scheme, and the Justice Department's handling of the prosecution was criticized as protecting intelligence equities over criminal accountability."
created: 2026-05-14
updated: 2026-05-17
start: 1987-01-01
end: 1993-12-31
location: "Atlanta, Georgia"
---
The BNL scandal (Banca Nazionale del Lavoro scandal) grew from the discovery that the Atlanta, Georgia branch of [[Banca Nazionale del Lavoro]] - Italy's largest state-owned bank - had illegally extended approximately $5 billion in unauthorized loans to [[Iraq]] between 1987 and 1989. The loans were used by [[Saddam Hussein]]'s government to finance purchases of weapons, weapons components, and dual-use industrial equipment. The FBI discovered the scheme on August 4, 1989, when agents raided the Atlanta branch and seized documents showing undisclosed credit facilities to Iraqi state enterprises.[^1]