BCCI Scandal

About BCCI Scandal

The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was a global bank founded in 1972 by Pakistani financier Agha Hasan Abedi. BCCI grew rapidly, operating in 78 countries with 20 billion in assets. The bank was involved in money laundering for drug cartels, arms dealers, and dictators. BCCI secretly acquired US banks despite legal prohibitions. The bank was shut down in July 1991 by regulators in 7 countries simultaneously. Depositors lost over 8 billion. The scandal exposed weaknesses in international banking regulation. BCCI was nicknamed the Bank of Crooks and Criminals. The closure of BCCI was the largest bank fraud in history at the time, later surpassed by the 2008 crisis frauds.