---
category: BCCI Scandal
summary: Carlson was a key figure in the early relationship between Bank of America
  and BCCI.
tags:
- Person
- BCCI
- CIA
---

Roy P. M. Carlson was a Bank of America executive who orchestrated Bank of America's original investment in [BCCI](/organizations/bank-of-credit-and-commerce-international/).[^1] He later became the head of [National Bank of Georgia](/organizations/national-bank-of-georgia/) at the request of [Ghaith R. Pharaon](/people/ghaith-r-pharaon/).[^1]

### Early Career and BCCI Involvement

Carlson was a key figure in the early relationship between Bank of America and BCCI. He had entertained [Agha Hasan Abedi](/people/agha-hasan-abedi/) when Abedi came to the United States to negotiate Bank of America's 30-percent share in the new bank in 1972, and the two became friends.[^2] Carlson later left Bank of America in 1975 to become president of Rahim Irvani's Melli Group in [Iran](/places/iran/).[^2] He was also a partner in former [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) Director [Richard Helms](/people/richard-helms/)'s consulting firm, Safeer.[^2]

### Role at National Bank of Georgia

Carlson was appointed head of the [National Bank of Georgia](/organizations/national-bank-of-georgia/) by Abedi and Pharaon, who sought to reconfigure the bank along BCCI's lines.[^2] Under Carlson's guidance, the bank's assets quadrupled from $400 million to $1.6 billion. The National Bank of Georgia became a clearinghouse for BCCI funds in the United States, a destination for BCCI letters of credit, and a provider of loans and services to BCCI's international clientele.[^2]

Carlson played a role in the acquisition of [Financial General Bankshares](/organizations/financial-general-bankshares/), negotiating the purchase for First American Bank.[^2]

[^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, pp. 210-14.