---
category: Private Organization
end: 1992
location: Encino, California, USA
summary: Independence Bank of Encino was a financial institution illegally acquired
  by the Bank of Credit and Commerce International.[^1]
tags:
- Organization
- Bank
- BCCI
---

Independence Bank of Encino was a financial institution illegally acquired by the [BCCI](/organizations/bank-of-credit-and-commerce-international/).[^1]

### Acquisition by BCCI

BCCI illegally acquired Independence Bank of Encino in October 1985 for close to $23 million, using [Ghaith R. Pharaon](/people/ghaith-r-pharaon/) as a front man.[^1] The true nature of the transaction was concealed when [Swaleh Naqvi](/people/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](/organizations/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](/people/agha-hasan-abedi/) in November 1991.[^3]

[^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.