25 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
25 lines
2.2 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
tags: ["Organization", "Bank", "BCCI"]
|
|
category: "Private Organization"
|
|
summary: "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.[^1]"
|
|
---
|
|
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 City]] 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.
|