---
category: Private Organization
end: 1987
location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
summary: National Bank of Georgia was a financial institution that became entangled
  in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International scandal.[^1]
tags:
- Organization
- Bank
---

National Bank of Georgia was a financial institution that became entangled in the [BCCI](/organizations/bank-of-credit-and-commerce-international/) scandal.[^1]

### Acquisition by BCCI

[Ghaith R. Pharaon](/people/ghaith-r-pharaon/) finalized his acquisition of National Bank of Georgia from [Bert Lance](/people/bert-lance/) in January 1978, with the help of [Agha Hasan Abedi](/people/agha-hasan-abedi/).[^1] Abedi paid off Lance's $3.5 million bank loan on the same day.[^1]

BCCI illegally acquired the National Bank of Georgia, using Pharaon as a front man.[^1] The bank's assets quadrupled from $400 million to $1.6 billion under [Roy P. M. Carlson](/people/roy-p-m-carlson/)'s leadership, who was appointed head of the bank by Abedi and Pharaon.[^2] The National Bank of Georgia functioned primarily as a clearinghouse for BCCI funds in the [United States](/places/united-states/), a destination for BCCI letters of credit, and a provider of loans and services to BCCI's international clientele.[^2]

By 1987, the bank's share of the Atlanta retail market had dropped to 5 percent, and it began to suffer significant loan losses, requiring new capital infusions.[^2] [First American Bank](/organizations/first-american-bank/) purchased the National Bank of Georgia from Ghaith Pharaon for $227 million in 1987.[^1]

### Legal Issues

The National Bank of Georgia 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 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. 11-14.
[^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.
[^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.