---
category: BCCI Scandal
summary: Amjad Awan was a manager of BCCI Panama and later the bank's marketing manager
  for Latin America and the Caribbean.
tags:
- Person
- BCCI
- Banker
- CIA
---

Amjad Awan was a manager of [BCCI](/organizations/bank-of-credit-and-commerce-international/) [Panama](/places/panama/) and later the bank's marketing manager for Latin America and the Caribbean.[^1] He gained notoriety as [Manuel Noriega](/people/manuel-noriega/)'s personal banker, handling his accounts and facilitating illicit financial transactions.[^2]

### Role in BCCI's Operations

Awan was deeply involved in BCCI's efforts to hide illicit financial transactions and manage accounts for high-net-worth criminal clients.[^3] He facilitated the movement of money for drug cartels and maintained a close relationship with Noriega, who was looting his own country.[^4] Awan also told investigators that BCCI secretly owned and controlled [First American Bank](/organizations/first-american-bank/) and other United States banks.[^5]

In October 1988, Awan was arrested by American Customs agents in Tampa, Florida, as part of a sting operation targeting money laundering and narcotics trafficking.[^6] He was convicted of money laundering but never testified at his trial.[^7] Despite his conviction, Awan's testimony and cooperation with investigators were crucial in revealing the extent of BCCI's criminal enterprise.

### Connections and Legal Proceedings

Awan's connections extended to high-level figures within BCCI and beyond. He was in contact with [Swaleh Naqvi](/people/swaleh-naqvi/), BCCI's chief operating officer, and was advised by [Clark Clifford](/people/clark-clifford/) and [Robert Altman](/people/robert-altman/), BCCI's chief American counsel, to shred documents and leave the United States.[^8]

His case was part of a larger investigation into BCCI's money laundering activities, which eventually led to the bank pleading guilty in Tampa in 1990.[^9]

[^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. 8.
[^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. 8.
[^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. 27.
[^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. 27.
[^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. 28.
[^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. 13.
[^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. 32.
[^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. 41.
[^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. 13.