The_Info_Web/10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Clark Clifford.md

tags
Person Lawyer Government Official BCCI

Clark Clifford was a prominent American attorney and government official who advised Democratic presidents since Harry S. Truman.¹ He served as chairman of First American Bank and was chief U.S. counsel to Bank of Credit and Commerce International.²

Political and Legal Career

Clifford arrived in Washington, D.C. in 1945 as a naval aide at the White House.³ He was a principal architect of "Fair Deal" politics and a co-author of the National Security Act of 1947, which established the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council.⁴ He was a key figure in the creation of the United States Department of Defense and participated in the formulation of the Truman Doctrine, a policy of Soviet containment.⁵

He advised John F. Kennedy after the Bay of Pigs Invasion and served as Secretary of Defense under Lyndon B. Johnson, leading efforts to extricate the United States from Vietnam.⁶ Clifford also counseled Jimmy Carter on the Panama Canal Treaty and acted as his special envoy to Greece, Turkey, and India.⁷

After leaving government service, Clifford maintained a private law practice, representing major corporations such as Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Time Incorporated, and General Electric.⁸ He was known for his ability to navigate political complexities and his influence in Washington.⁹

Involvement with BCCI

Clifford became involved with BCCI through his association with Bert Lance, who introduced him to Agha Hasan Abedi.¹⁰ Clifford and his law partner, Robert Altman, were instrumental in BCCI's secret acquisition of Financial General Bankshares, which later became First American Bank.¹¹ They served as BCCI's lead counsel in the United States and were paid substantial legal fees for their work.¹²

Clifford and Altman were accused of lying to U.S. banking regulators about BCCI's secret ownership of First American Bank.¹³ In February 1988, they sold a large portion of their First American stock to a BCCI front man, making significant profits.¹⁴ This transaction occurred amidst growing scrutiny of BCCI's activities.

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.¹⁵

Footnotes

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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. 9. ↩︎

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. 9. ↩︎

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. 185. ↩︎

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. 185. ↩︎

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. 185. ↩︎

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. 185. ↩︎

7. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 185. ↩︎

8. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 186. ↩︎

9. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 187. ↩︎

10. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 181. ↩︎

11. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 194. ↩︎

12. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 217. ↩︎

13. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 30. ↩︎

14. Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 215. ↩︎

15. 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. ↩︎