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Ghaith R. Pharaon

Pharaon launched himself into the construction business in Saudi Arabia in 1965, founding Saudi Arabian Research and Development Corporation (REDEC).

Mentions 7 Tags PersonBCCI

Ghaith R. Pharaon was a flamboyant BCCI front man and a Saudi financier.1 He acquired Georgia National Bank and Independence Bank of Encino, and was a shareholder in Attock Oil, BCCI, and CenTrust Savings Bank.2

Business Ventures and BCCI Involvement

Pharaon launched himself into the construction business in Saudi Arabia in 1965, founding Saudi Arabian Research and Development Corporation (REDEC). REDEC grew to have revenues exceeding $1 billion and employed 17,000 people by 1979.3 Pharaon owned pharmaceutical companies, steel-fabricating plants, and water-bottling plants, and was involved in joint ventures with companies like South Korean Daelim and Ralph M. Parsons Company.4

Pharaon was recruited by Agha Hasan Abedi and used as a front for BCCI to acquire entities that were difficult for BCCI to obtain directly, including the National Bank of Georgia and Independence Bank.5 He was listed as BCCI's single largest shareholder by 1985, holding 16 percent of the company, though this was a sham achieved through Abedi's circular loan scheme.6

He was involved in the sham purchase of CenTrust debentures, acting as a front for BCCI, which allowed CenTrust to remain open longer, costing U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion.7 Pharaon and Abedi also teamed up to purchase Hercules, Inc., a munitions manufacturer.8

Pharaon had extensive political connections, including with Jimmy Carter, to whose charitable organizations he made donations.9 He was involved in lobbying efforts to keep CenTrust afloat, meeting with figures like M. Danny Wall, then the nation's top thrift regulator.10

Pharaon was indicted by the Department of Justice in 1992 for his role in the bond-swap conspiracy related to CenTrust and the secret ownership of Independence Bank of Encino.11 He is described as fleeing from several indictments in the United States and is under investigation in Argentina.12

Sources

  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. ↩
  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. 11. ↩
  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. 205. ↩
  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. 205. ↩
  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. 43. ↩
  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. 211. ↩
  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. 220. ↩
  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. 220. ↩
  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. 202. ↩
  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. 85. ↩
  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. 221. ↩
  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. 394. ↩

Connected to

Organization
Bank of Credit and Commerce International
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was a Pakistani-founded offshore bank that operated across 78 countries before its 1991 collapse exposed a decade-long conspiracy involving money laundering for drug cartels and intelligence agencies, illegal acquisition of U.S. banks, bribery, fraud, and arms trafficking, in what regulators called the largest bank fraud in history.
7 shared pages
viaRoy P. M. Carlson · A. R. (Abdul Raouf) Khalil · David L. Paul · National Bank of Georgia · Independence Bank of Encino

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