---
category: BCCI Scandal
summary: Arif Durrani was a Pakistani arms dealer convicted of illegally providing
  HAWK antiaircraft missile parts to Iran.
tags:
- Person
- BCCI
- CIA
---

Arif Durrani was a [Pakistani](/places/pakistan/) arms dealer convicted of illegally providing HAWK antiaircraft missile parts to [Iran](/places/iran/).[^1] He was the son of an army general.[^2]

### Arms Dealing and BCCI Connections

Durrani was described as a wealthy arms merchant who traveled the world in luxury.[^3] He admitted to supplying Iran with arms and stated that he was part of a joint operation conducted by the [United States](/places/united-states/) and [Israel](/places/israel/) to release American hostages in the Middle East.[^4] He met with a U.S. official named [Oliver North](/people/oliver-north/) to obtain HAWK parts.[^5] His arrest on October 3, 1986, occurred one month before the U.S. government's secret arms-for-hostages deal with Tehran was revealed.[^6]

Durrani had close connections to the [BCCI](/organizations/bank-of-credit-and-commerce-international/), knowing [Agha Hasan Abedi](/people/agha-hasan-abedi/) personally and having his operations financed by the bank.[^7] He grew up in Karachi with many of the men who became BCCI executives and worked with them from the beginning of his career as an arms dealer.[^8] He stated that BCCI basically funded operations on instructions from the government of [Pakistan](/places/pakistan/), including the construction of a Mirage factory.[^9]

He outlined BCCI's and [Asaf Ali](/people/asaf-ali/)'s weapons deals across the globe, from Bulgaria to Nigeria.[^10] Durrani also stated that BCCI steered some of his business to [First American Bank](/organizations/first-american-bank/) in [New York City](/places/new-york-city/), considering BCCI and First American Bank interchangeable for financial transactions.[^11]

Until his arrest, Durrani was the managing director of Merex, a California arms firm that supplied the Israelis.[^12]

[^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. 9.
[^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. 321.
[^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. 304.
[^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. 305.
[^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. 305.
[^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. 305.
[^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. 305.
[^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. 305.
[^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. 306.
[^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. 306.
[^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. 306.
[^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. 305.