BCCI research and Narratives

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Capcom.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Financial", "BCCI"]
+---
+Capcom was a trading subsidiary of the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]].[^1]
+
+### Financial Activities
+
+BCCI suffered over $440 million in losses from options trading through Capcom.[^1]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 12.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/CenTrust Savings Bank.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Bank", "Financial Institution"]
+---
+CenTrust Savings Bank was a financial institution based in [[Miami]], owned by [[David L. Paul]].[^1]
+
+### Involvement in BCCI Scandal
+
+[[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] acquired a partnership in CenTrust Savings Bank in July 1987.[^1] Paul put CenTrust on a significant growth curve using brokered deposits, which he funneled into high-risk real estate loans, junk bonds, and offbeat investments.[^2] He built a gleaming postmodernist skyscraper for CenTrust, which cost $180 million and featured marble, gold-plated bathroom fixtures, and a $13 million Peter Paul Rubens painting.[^2]
+
+[[Ghaith Pharaon]], acting as a front for BCCI, bought $24,668,750 of CenTrust's bonds in 1987. Paul secretly repurchased these bonds less than a year later, and Pharaon received a commission.[^3] This transaction allowed CenTrust to satisfy regulators and remain open for an additional year, costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion when it was finally closed.[^4]
+
+CenTrust's financial troubles were exacerbated by a regulatory action that forced it to divest its wildly imprudent investments and Paul's de facto looting of depositors' funds.[^5] The [[Federal Reserve Board]] later fined BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control of CenTrust Savings Bank, along with [[First American Bank]] and [[National Bank of Georgia]].[^6]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 13.
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 218.
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 220.
+[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 85.
+[^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 219.
+[^6]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 14.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Chelsea National Bank.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Bank"]
+---
+Chelsea National Bank was a financial institution that [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] attempted to acquire in 1975, using [[Abbas Gokal]] as a front.[^1] Regulators rejected the bid due to concerns about BCCI's involvement.[^1]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 11.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Financial General Bankshares.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Financial Institution"]
+---
+Financial General Bankshares was a bank holding company that became a target of acquisition by the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]].[^1]
+
+### Acquisition Attempts and BCCI Involvement
+
+In February 1978, BCCI orchestrated a hostile bid for Financial General Bankshares with the help of [[Bert Lance]].[^1] Financial General, in turn, sued Lance, [[Agha Hasan Abedi]], BCCI, and the Arab investors for making an illegal attempt to take over the bank.[^1] The [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] later filed suit against BCCI, Abedi, Lance, and others in connection with the purchase of Financial General Bankshares stock.[^1]
+
+[[Clark Clifford]] and [[Robert Altman]] were retained as counsel by Abedi, BCCI, and the front men to handle the Financial General suit and serve as principal liaisons with the shareholders and regulators.[^2] In August 1981, regulators approved the sale of Financial General to Middle Eastern investors connected with BCCI, based on Clifford's assurances that there would be no link between BCCI and Financial General Bankshares.[^1]
+
+BCCI secretly acquired control of Financial General Bankshares through nominees, including [[Kamal Adham]], [[Faisal Saud al-Fulaij]], and [[Abdullah Darwaish]].[^3] These front men bought up nearly 20 percent of Financial General's stock, violating the law by failing to declare that they were acting as a group.[^3]
+
+### Legal and Regulatory Scrutiny
+
+The acquisition attempts led to lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny, highlighting BCCI's use of front men and illicit financial practices to gain control of American banking institutions.[^3] The [[Federal Reserve Board]] later fined BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control of three prominent U.S. banking institutions, including Financial General Bankshares.[^1]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 12-14.
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 191.
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 183.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/First American Bank.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Bank", "BCCI"]
+---
+First American Bank was a bank based in [[Washington, D.C.]], which became secretly owned and controlled by the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]].[^1]
+
+### Acquisition and BCCI Control
+
+First American Bank was acquired by Middle Eastern investors connected with BCCI in 1981, following the acquisition of [[Financial General Bankshares]].[^1] [[Clark Clifford]] and [[Robert Altman]] served as BCCI's chief American counsel and later as chairman and president of First American Bank, respectively.[^1] They were instrumental in concealing BCCI's secret ownership through a network of nominees and fraudulent loans.[^2]
+
+BCCI used nominees to secretly purchase shares in [[Credit and Commerce American Holdings|CCAH]], the holding company that owned First American Bank.[^3] The bank's assets grew significantly, but it also faced deepening financial woes due to a disastrous real estate portfolio.[^4]
+
+### Legal and Regulatory Scrutiny
+
+The [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] issued a report in 1986 stating that BCCI had owned First American Bank since 1982.[^1] The [[Federal Reserve Board]] later fined BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control of First American Bank, along with [[National Bank of Georgia]] and [[CenTrust Savings Bank]].[^1]
+
+In July 1992, Clifford and Altman were indicted by a [[New York]] grand jury on charges of bribery and fraud related to their involvement with BCCI and First American Bank.[^1]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 8-14.
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, pp. 192-194.
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 141.
+[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 134.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/ICIC.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Financial Institution", "BCCI"]
+---
+ICIC (International Credit and Investment Company Holdings) was a [[Cayman Islands]] subsidiary of the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]].[^1] It served as BCCI's repository for loans to privileged insiders.[^1]
+
+### Role in BCCI Operations
+
+ICIC was incorporated in 1976 and became the primary entity through which much of BCCI's illicit financial dealings took place.[^2] It consisted of three Caymanian entities: the BCC Foundation, the ICIC Staff Benefit Trust, and ICIC Business Promotions, which collectively owned about 41 percent of BCCI itself.[^2]
+
+ICIC was used to conceal the bank's true ownership and financial manipulations. Billions of dollars in deposits were improperly diverted through ICIC, and it was a key mechanism for creating fictitious loans and rerouting deposits to cover losses.[^3] The worst of BCCI's account manipulation, particularly related to bad loans, was booked through ICIC.[^2]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 11.
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 143.
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 83.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/Independence Bank of Encino.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Bank", "BCCI"]
+---
+Independence Bank of Encino was a financial institution illegally acquired by the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]].[^1]
+
+### Acquisition by BCCI
+
+BCCI illegally acquired Independence Bank of Encino in October 1985 for close to $23 million, using [[Ghaith Pharaon]] as a front man.[^1] The true nature of the transaction was concealed when [[Swaleh Naqvi]] secretly funneled money to Pharaon through the Parisian [[Bancque Arabe et Investissement]].[^2]
+
+Pharaon quickly installed BCCI personnel, including [[Kemal Shoaih]], as president.[^2] Independence Bank of Encino shortly ran out of capital and had to be rescued in 1991 with funds seized from BCCI.[^2]
+
+### Legal Issues
+
+Independence Bank of Encino was one of the three prominent U.S. banking institutions that the [[Federal Reserve Board]] fined BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control.[^1] It was also part of the indictment against BCCI and [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] in November 1991.[^3]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 12-14
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 211-212
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 383.

20 - ORGANIZATIONS/PRIVATE/National Bank of Georgia.md

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+---
+tags: ["Organization", "Bank"]
+---
+National Bank of Georgia was a financial institution that became entangled in the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] scandal.[^1]
+
+### Acquisition by BCCI
+
+[[Ghaith Pharaon]] finalized his acquisition of National Bank of Georgia from [[Bert Lance]] in January 1978, with the help of [[Agha Hasan Abedi]].[^1] Abedi paid off Lance's $3.5 million bank loan on the same day.[^1]
+
+BCCI illegally acquired the National Bank of Georgia, using Pharaon as a front man.[^1] The bank's assets quadrupled from $400 million to $1.6 billion under [[Roy P. M. Carlson]]'s leadership, who was appointed head of the bank by Abedi and Pharaon.[^2] The National Bank of Georgia functioned primarily as a clearinghouse for BCCI funds in the [[United States]], a destination for BCCI letters of credit, and a provider of loans and services to BCCI's international clientele.[^2]
+
+By 1987, the bank's share of the [[Atlanta]] retail market had dropped to 5 percent, and it began to suffer significant loan losses, requiring new capital infusions.[^2] [[First American Bank]] purchased the National Bank of Georgia from Ghaith Pharaon for $227 million in 1987.[^1]
+
+### Legal Issues
+
+The National Bank of Georgia was one of the three prominent U.S. banking institutions that the [[Federal Reserve Board]] fined BCCI $200 million for illegally acquiring control.[^1] It was also part of the indictment against BCCI and Abedi in November 1991.[^3]
+
+## Footnotes
+
+[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 11-14.
+[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 211.
+[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 383.