Word: abedi
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...Abedi's strategy was taking shape. Using prominent Arab businessmen and members of ruling families from the United Arab Emirates as proxies, Abedi and B.C.C.I. organized an attempted hostile takeover of Financial General Bankshares, a Washington bank holding company. When the Securities and Exchange Commission charged that B.C.C.I. had secretly orchestrated it, Abedi hired Clifford and Altman to represent him and his group. This felicitous combination of wealthy shareholders from oil-rich Arab countries and Washington's most famous attorney calmed regulators, who allowed B.C.C.I.'s fronts to purchase Financial General, which they renamed First American...
...Lance connection eventually led to Jimmy Carter. When he left office, Abedi lent him B.C.C.I.'s corporate jet to replace Air Force One, donated $500,000 to help establish the Carter Center at Emory University in Atlanta, and began pumping donations into Carter's Global 2000 Foundation, which provided health care in the Third World. Sources close to B.C.C.I. say Abedi gave "millions" to the charitable project. Carter spokesmen would not confirm the amount but conceded that B.C.C.I. gave $1.5 million last year (the former President was not available for an interview on the subject of Abedi). That gift...
...think that is a poor reflection of Carter: Abedi, a charismatic personality, has given millions each year to charities and has wooed numerous world leaders attracted to his Third World Foundation. Britain's Lord Callaghan, a former Prime Minister, was a paid economic adviser to B.C.C.I., and Pakistani President Zia was a staunch supporter. While Indira Gandhi was India's Prime Minister, she presented a prize established by B.C.C.I. "When I met him 20 years ago," says a close associate of Abedi's, "I looked into his eyes and saw God and the devil residing in perfect harmony...
...secretive bank within the bank diverted depositors' funds to finance purported loans to insiders for the purchase of stock in institutions that Abedi wanted to control from behind the scenes. In general such loans would never be repaid. According to the records, $476 million from a B.C.C.I. bank in the Cayman Islands and $308 million from International Credit & Investment Co. Ltd., a B.C.C.I. holding company in the Caymans, were funneled to fake shareholders for purchases of stock in transactions similar to the First American shuffle...
...political value of Abedi's connections to wealthy Middle Easterners was never more apparent than in the case of CenTrust Savings Bank of Miami. CenTrust, acquired by real estate developer David Paul in 1983 and now infamous as the S&L that spent its money on bathroom sinks made of pure gold, raised eyebrows in the regulatory community in the mid-1980s when it invested massively in junk bonds...