---
born: 1935-10-04
category: BCCI Scandal
location: Fort Smith, Arkansas, USA
summary: Kerr appeared before Senator John Kerry's Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics,
  and International Operations on October 25, 1992, to discuss the CIA's knowledge
  of BCCI's activities.
tags:
- Person
- BCCI
- CIA
---

Richard J. Kerr served as Acting [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) Director. In 1991, he confirmed that the agency had used [BCCI](/organizations/bank-of-credit-and-commerce-international/) to move money around the world.[^1]

### Role in BCCI Affair

Kerr appeared before Senator [John Kerry](/people/john-kerry/)'s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Narcotics, and International Operations on October 25, 1992, to discuss the CIA's knowledge of BCCI's activities.[^2] He stated that the CIA had not been involved with a BCCI "black network" of thugs and assassins, nor had it used BCCI for arms sales to [Iran](/places/iran/) or diversion of funds for the [Nicaraguan Contras](/organizations/contras/).[^3] He also denied that the CIA had a relationship with [Agha Hasan Abedi](/people/agha-hasan-abedi/) or had placed him on a watch list.[^4]

Despite these denials, Kerr admitted that the CIA did maintain accounts with BCCI, describing them as normal operational accounts.[^5] The Kerry subcommittee's report suggested that [William J. Casey](/people/william-j-casey/)'s actions, including any role in the [Iran-Contra Affair](/events/iran-contra-affair/), were undertaken in his position as an adviser to the President, rather than as Director of the CIA, allowing them to be undocumented and deniable.[^6]

[^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. 89.
[^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. 348.
[^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. 348.
[^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. 149.
[^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. 348.