BCCI — the Bank of Credit and Commerce International — was founded in 1972 by Pakistani banker Agha Hasan Abedi and grew into a sprawling institution operating in 78 countries. Deliberately structured across Luxembourg and the Cayman Islands to evade unified regulation, it built a hidden empire of money laundering, fraudulent loans, and accounts for drug traffickers, arms dealers, and intelligence agencies. After a Price Waterhouse audit exposed massive fraud, regulators in several countries seized its operations on 5 July 1991, freezing assets worldwide. Investigations revealed losses estimated in the billions, making it one of the largest banking frauds ever uncovered. Depositors lost much of their money.
Worth remembering
- Critics dubbed it the 'Bank of Crooks and Criminals International' for its laundering and fraud.
- It operated in 78 countries and engaged in money laundering, arms trafficking financing, and fictitious loans.
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Sources
- BCCI was shut down by regulators in 1991 amid revelations of fraud, money laundering, and an estimated multi-billion-dollar hole Wikipedia
- BCCI was closed in 1991 in what regulators called one of the largest banking frauds in history The New York Times
- The Bank of Credit and Commerce International, founded in 1972 and operating in more than 70 countries, was shut down by regulators in July 1991 as one of the largest banking frauds in history, having concealed massive losses and laundered money. Encyclopaedia Britannica
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