Sami Masri was a [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] operative.[^1] He was a Palestinian with a [[Jordan|Jordanian]] passport, raised in [[Abu Dhabi]], and had connections to [[Sheikh Zayed]]'s Private Department.[^2] ### Role in BCCI's Black Network Masri was recruited into BCCI's "[[Black Network]]" in 1984 while in college in [[Pittsburgh]].[^3] This network was a clandestine division of BCCI that functioned as a global intelligence operation and a mafia-like enforcement squad.[^4] Masri described the network's involvement in drug shipments, smuggled gold, stolen military secrets, assassinations, bribery, extortion, covert intelligence operations, and weapons deals.[^5] He claimed the Black Network did a lot of intelligence operations with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], including picking up and assassinating people for the agency.[^6] Masri stated that the organization was bankrolled by BCCI and aimed for complete domination of key countries.[^7] He also revealed that the Black Network was involved in financing both sides in [[Nicaragua]], handling money from [[Saudi Arabia]] for the [[Contras]] and from [[Kuwait]] for the [[Sandinistas]].[^8] Masri was a source for [[Jonathan Beaty]] and [[S. C. Gwynne]] during their investigation into BCCI. He provided detailed information about the bank's criminal activities and its connections to intelligence agencies, though he was often evasive and exaggerated his own importance.[^9] He was secretly tape-recorded by federal law enforcement figures as he described BCCI's criminal activities.[^10] ### Legal Issues and Personal Life Masri was arrested by American Customs agents in Tampa, Florida, as part of a sting operation targeting money laundering.[^11] He was later indicted on charges of tax evasion stemming from a coffee-smuggling scheme financed by BCCI.[^12] His personal life was tumultuous; he was disinherited by his family after marrying an Australian airline stewardess named Pamela. He later sought to divorce Pamela, claiming she knew too much about his work with the Black Network.[^13] ### 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. 10. [^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. 94. [^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. 103. [^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. 147. [^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. 90. [^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. 108. [^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. 105. [^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. 105. [^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. 122. [^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. 29. [^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. 13. [^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. 14. [^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. 94.