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{{short description|Saudi Arabian businessperson (1940-2017)}}
[[Image:Ghaith_R_Pharaon.jpg|thumb|right|FBI wanted poster for Ghaith R. Pharaon]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
'''Ghaith Rashad Pharaon''' (born September 7, 1940 in Riyadh (or Jeddah) and a citizen of Saudi Arabia) is a prominent Saudi businessman and financier, and was a key player in the global oil and banking industries in the 1970s and 1980s. A continuing subject of interest by the FBI, the Department of Justice, the IRS, the [[Carabinieri|Arma dei Carabinieri]] and various other investigative agencies, he attained brief notoriety in the U.S. for his having been identified by the [[Federal Reserve Board]] as the "frontman" in the [[BCCI]] scandal, and for peripheral roles in the [[Harken Energy Scandal|Harken Energy]], [[CenTrust]] and numerous other scandals.
{{expand Hungarian|topic=bio|otherarticle=Ghaith Rashad Pharaon|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ghaith Pharaon
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Ghaith Rashad Pharaon
| birth_date = {{birth date|1940|09|07}}
| birth_place =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|01|06|1940|09|08}}<!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place = [[Beirut]]
| resting_place =
| occupation = Businessman
}}
'''Ghaith Rashad Pharaon''' ({{Langx|ar|غيث فرعون}}; September 7, 1940 – January 6, 2017), was a [[Saudi people|Saudi]] fugitive financier and businessman who was founder of [[Attock Group]], [[Attock Cement]], and at one time an investor in the [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International]] (BCCI), an international bank established by Pakistani financier [[Agha Hasan Abedi]]. He was described by ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine as once near a billionaire.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1991-06-03 |title=Mystery of Ghaith Pharaon: front man or real investor? |url=https://www.americanbanker.com/news/mystery-of-ghaith-pharaon-front-man-or-real-investor |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=American Banker |language=en}}</ref>


Secretly acting on behalf of BCCI, Pharaon acquired control of two American banks in violation of federal banking laws. When the fraud was discovered, BCCI was forced to sell the banks, and soon after shut down by regulators when it was determined to be insolvent. Pharaon was charged with wire fraud and racketeering conspiracy; although he eventually paid out substantial fines and a major settlement to the bank's liquidators, the criminal charges were never resolved and American authorities were seeking his extradition until he died in 2017.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Random House| isbn = 978-0-679-41384-4| last1 = Beaty| first1 = Jonathan| last2 = Gwynne| first2 = S. C.| title = The outlaw bank: a wild ride into the secret heart of BCCI| location = New York| date = 1993| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/outlawbank00jona}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/Pre_96/February95/76.txt.html|title=#076 Judge Joyce Hens Green Issues Restraining Order}}</ref>
After the events of September 11th, he re-emerged as a subject of public interest, due in part to having been a former classmate of [[George W. Bush]] at [[Harvard Business School]], and a prominent investor in Bush's short-lived venture [[Arbusto Energy]]. According to a 70-page French parliamentary report released in October of 2002, Pharaon has been identified as a recent player in the informal money- and value-transfering (or ''[[hawala]]'') networks of [[Al Qaeda]] head [[Osama bin Laden]].


==Early life and education==
=== Notable affiliations ===
Ghaith Pharaon is the son of [[Rashad Pharaon]] who served as Saudi Ambassador to all Europe from 1948 until 1954. His father was also advisor to [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia|King Faisal]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Faisal bin Salman Al Saud|authorlink1=Faisal bin Salman Al Saud|title=Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf: Power Politics in Transition|date=March 26, 2004|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=9780857718433|pages=33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FMBAwAAQBAJ|language=en}}</ref> He attended schools in Lebanon, Syria and Switzerland. His university education was in the United States at the [[Colorado School of Mines]] from 1959 to 1961 followed by [[Stanford University]] from 1962 to 1963; and [[Harvard Business School]] from 1963 to 1965 (until his graduation). He was appointed as a member of the board of associates of Harvard Business School and as a member of the International Development Council of the Colorado School of Mines. After graduating from Harvard, Pharaon formed the Saudi Research And Development Corporation, Ltd. (REDEC), the largest private enterprise in the Middle East.


Pharaon was a key player in the global oil and banking industries in the 1970s and 1980s and at one time, the No. 2 Saudi investor in the United States. In 1977, he acquired the [[National Bank of Georgia]] from owner [[Bert Lance]] as part of complex scheme to take over a large Washington D.C. bank, First American Bankshares, on behalf of BCCI.<ref>[http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/ The BCCI Affair, Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations States Senate] (A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate by Senator [[John Kerry]] and Senator [[Hank Brown]]; December 1992; 102d Congress 2d Session Senate Print 102–140)</ref> This eventually led to criminal charges against him in the United States. He died on January 6, 2017, at the age of 76.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hvg.hu/gazdasag/20170111_Itt_a_hivatalos_megerosites_hogy_az_a_Pharaon_halt_meg |title=Itt a hivatalos megerősítés, hogy "az a Pharaon" halt meg |date=January 11, 2017|website=hvg.hu |publisher=HVG |access-date=January 11, 2017}}</ref>
==== Business associates ====


==Last days==
* [[Roger Tamraz]]
Pharaon served as Chair of [[Attock Petroleum]].<ref name="ABC News"/> He also served as the Chairman of [[National Refinery]] and Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd. He served as the Chairman of Attock Refinery Ltd. until February 18, 2011. He served as a Director of [[Pakistan Oilfields]], the Attock Refinery Ltd., Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd and the National Refinery Ltd.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=13401489 |title=Executive Profile: Ghaith R. Pharaon |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |access-date=16 August 2013}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
* Saudi financier [[Khaled bin Mahfouz]]; close friend and confidant
* Sheikh [[Kamal Adham]], BCCI principal, head of Saudi intelligence
* Sheikh [[Abdul Raouf Khalil]]
* Sheikh [[Abdullah Taha Bakhsh]]
* [[Faisal Saud Al Fulaij]], via BCCI.
* [[Nazir Chinoy]], BCCI.
* [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] and [[Swaleh Naqvi]], BCCI directors.
* [[Gonzalez Fraga]], economist hired by Pharaon to manage debt equity swaps for BCCI in Argentina.
* [[Abbas Gokal]], and other members of the [[Gokal Family]] of Pakistan.
* [[Bert Lance]], [[Clark Clifford]], [[James R. Bath]], via BCCI.
* [[Sergio da Costa]], former Brazillian ambassador to the US; BCCI front man in Brazil and consultant for [[Kissinger Associates]].
* [[Michael Ameen]], Houston-based oil consultant; early acquaintance of Pharaon and long-term friend of Bakhsh
* [[John Connally]]
* [[George W. Bush]]


===Military contracts===
==== Banking affiliations ====
Although Pharaon had been a wanted fugitive by the F.B.I since 1991 for massive fraud in the financial collapse of BCCI Bank; Pharaon was awarded a total of $120&nbsp;million in contracts by the [[United States military]] in 2008. The contracts were to supply thousands of tons of jet fuel to American bases stationed in [[Afghanistan]] and were awarded to Attock Refinery, a Pakistan-based refinery owned by him and directed by [[Kamal Adham]], the former head of [[Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah|Saudi Intelligence]].<ref name="ABC News">{{cite news|last=Peters|first=Gretchen|title=Indicted Saudi Gets $80 Million US Contract|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4996285&page=1|work=ABC News|date=June 4, 2008}}</ref>


===Personal life===
* [[BCCI]]
Pharaon used to spend up to six months a year in Pakistan, where he operated his businesses and commercial interests.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/d4eb116d22cd5422b8bb8a1d48fc9a35|title=Pakistan Refuses to Extradite BCCI Founder|work=Associated Press|access-date=3 June 2020|date=11 February 1993|first=Kathy|last=Gannon|authorlink=Kathy Gannon|quote=Pharaon spends about six months a year in Pakistan administering his vast holdings, including Attock Oil, the country’s largest and richest oil producer.}}</ref> The extremely wealthy Pharaon was known to have been quite fond of cigars. He lived in his [[super yacht]], which he named ''Le Pharaon'' after himself and this repeatedly was seen moored alongside luxury yachts of the rich and famous. In June 2005, it was seen moored next to the personal yacht of Saudi [[Abdullah of Saudi Arabia|King Abdullah]] in a Greek port. Two years earlier, it was seen parked next to another Saudi royal family super yacht near Beirut.<ref>{{cite news|title=Wanted BCCI middle-man remains a fugitive|url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2006/June/theuae_June388.xml&section=theuae|newspaper=Khaleej Times|date=June 13, 2006}}</ref>
* [[Main Bank of Houston]]
* [[National Bank of Georgia]]
* [[Independence Bank]] of Encino
* [[CenTrust Federal Savings Bank]] of Miami, a "failed sattelite" of BCCI
* [[Bank of the Commonwealth]], Detroit.
* [[First American Bankshares]]


In 2016 it was reported that he bought a house in Budapest, right next to the personal residence of the Hungarian Prime minister [[Viktor Orbán]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://index.hu/belfold/2016/10/20/orban_szomszedja_ghaith_pharaon_bcci_magyar_narancs/|title=Magyar Narancs: Oszama bin Ladennel is üzletelt Orbán új szomszédja|access-date=20 October 2016}}</ref>
==== Oil industry ====


==References==
* [[Arbusto Energy]], seed investor.
{{reflist}}
* [[Occidental Petroleum Company]], shareholder.
* [[Pharaon Group]] of Pakistan
* Various entities under the umbrella of the Saudi-based [[Attock Group of Companies]], such as [[Attock Oil]], [[Attock Cement of Pakistan]], etc.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharaon, Ghaith}}
==== Minor holding / shell companies ====
[[Category:20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople]]

[[Category:21st-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople]]
* [[Interedec inc]], Savannah-based U.S. holding company, established 1983 (along with sister companies in the Netherlands Antilles and in the Bahamas)
[[Category:1940 births]]
* [[GRP Inc]], another Georgia-based holding company, established 1981
[[Category:2017 deaths]]

[[Category:Bank of Credit and Commerce International people|P]]
=== Current activities ===
[[Category:Fugitive financiers]]

[[Category:Fugitives wanted on fraud charges]]
Pharaon's current gig is with the Pakistan- & Saudi-based [[Attock Group of Companies]], where he serves as Chairman.
[[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]]

[[Category:Hoteliers]]
The extremely wealthy and camera-shy Pharaon is known to be quite fond of [[cigars]], and in recent years has taken a keen interest in [[motorboat|speedboat]] racing. He is said to have a principal residence near the [[Red Sea]] and to get around from time to time with the help of his 160-foot super-yacht, ''[[Le_Pharaon_(yacht)|Le Pharaon]]''.
[[Category:Saudi Arabian expatriates in Pakistan]]

[[Category:Saudi Arabian people of Syrian descent]]
=== External links ===
[[Category:Syrian businesspeople]]

* http://www.pharaon.com - defunct personal website
* http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.pharaon.com/ - snapshots of Pharaon's site at the [[Wayback Machine]]
* http://www.techmati.com/yachts/pharaon/index.htm - ''Le Pharaon'' photoblog at '''yachtmati.com'''


[[Category:Bankers]]
[[Category:FBI Most Wanted]]
[[Category:Fugitive Financiers]]
[[Category:Oil Men]]
[[Category:Cigar Smokers]]
[[Category:Yachtists]]

Latest revision as of 07:46, 3 November 2024

Ghaith Pharaon
Born
Ghaith Rashad Pharaon

(1940-09-07)September 7, 1940
DiedJanuary 6, 2017(2017-01-06) (aged 76)
Beirut
OccupationBusinessman

Ghaith Rashad Pharaon (Arabic: غيث فرعون; September 7, 1940 – January 6, 2017), was a Saudi fugitive financier and businessman who was founder of Attock Group, Attock Cement, and at one time an investor in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), an international bank established by Pakistani financier Agha Hasan Abedi. He was described by Forbes magazine as once near a billionaire.[1]

Secretly acting on behalf of BCCI, Pharaon acquired control of two American banks in violation of federal banking laws. When the fraud was discovered, BCCI was forced to sell the banks, and soon after shut down by regulators when it was determined to be insolvent. Pharaon was charged with wire fraud and racketeering conspiracy; although he eventually paid out substantial fines and a major settlement to the bank's liquidators, the criminal charges were never resolved and American authorities were seeking his extradition until he died in 2017.[2][3]

Early life and education

[edit]

Ghaith Pharaon is the son of Rashad Pharaon who served as Saudi Ambassador to all Europe from 1948 until 1954. His father was also advisor to King Faisal.[4] He attended schools in Lebanon, Syria and Switzerland. His university education was in the United States at the Colorado School of Mines from 1959 to 1961 followed by Stanford University from 1962 to 1963; and Harvard Business School from 1963 to 1965 (until his graduation). He was appointed as a member of the board of associates of Harvard Business School and as a member of the International Development Council of the Colorado School of Mines. After graduating from Harvard, Pharaon formed the Saudi Research And Development Corporation, Ltd. (REDEC), the largest private enterprise in the Middle East.

Pharaon was a key player in the global oil and banking industries in the 1970s and 1980s and at one time, the No. 2 Saudi investor in the United States. In 1977, he acquired the National Bank of Georgia from owner Bert Lance as part of complex scheme to take over a large Washington D.C. bank, First American Bankshares, on behalf of BCCI.[5] This eventually led to criminal charges against him in the United States. He died on January 6, 2017, at the age of 76.[6]

Last days

[edit]

Pharaon served as Chair of Attock Petroleum.[7] He also served as the Chairman of National Refinery and Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd. He served as the Chairman of Attock Refinery Ltd. until February 18, 2011. He served as a Director of Pakistan Oilfields, the Attock Refinery Ltd., Attock Cement Pakistan Ltd and the National Refinery Ltd.[8]

Military contracts

[edit]

Although Pharaon had been a wanted fugitive by the F.B.I since 1991 for massive fraud in the financial collapse of BCCI Bank; Pharaon was awarded a total of $120 million in contracts by the United States military in 2008. The contracts were to supply thousands of tons of jet fuel to American bases stationed in Afghanistan and were awarded to Attock Refinery, a Pakistan-based refinery owned by him and directed by Kamal Adham, the former head of Saudi Intelligence.[7]

Personal life

[edit]

Pharaon used to spend up to six months a year in Pakistan, where he operated his businesses and commercial interests.[9] The extremely wealthy Pharaon was known to have been quite fond of cigars. He lived in his super yacht, which he named Le Pharaon after himself and this repeatedly was seen moored alongside luxury yachts of the rich and famous. In June 2005, it was seen moored next to the personal yacht of Saudi King Abdullah in a Greek port. Two years earlier, it was seen parked next to another Saudi royal family super yacht near Beirut.[10]

In 2016 it was reported that he bought a house in Budapest, right next to the personal residence of the Hungarian Prime minister Viktor Orbán.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Mystery of Ghaith Pharaon: front man or real investor?". American Banker. June 3, 1991. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Beaty, Jonathan; Gwynne, S. C. (1993). The outlaw bank: a wild ride into the secret heart of BCCI. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-41384-4.
  3. ^ "#076 Judge Joyce Hens Green Issues Restraining Order".
  4. ^ Faisal bin Salman Al Saud (March 26, 2004). Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf: Power Politics in Transition. I.B.Tauris. p. 33. ISBN 9780857718433.
  5. ^ The BCCI Affair, Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations States Senate (A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate by Senator John Kerry and Senator Hank Brown; December 1992; 102d Congress 2d Session Senate Print 102–140)
  6. ^ "Itt a hivatalos megerősítés, hogy "az a Pharaon" halt meg". hvg.hu. HVG. January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Peters, Gretchen (June 4, 2008). "Indicted Saudi Gets $80 Million US Contract". ABC News.
  8. ^ "Executive Profile: Ghaith R. Pharaon". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved August 16, 2013.[dead link‍]
  9. ^ Gannon, Kathy (February 11, 1993). "Pakistan Refuses to Extradite BCCI Founder". Associated Press. Retrieved June 3, 2020. Pharaon spends about six months a year in Pakistan administering his vast holdings, including Attock Oil, the country's largest and richest oil producer.
  10. ^ "Wanted BCCI middle-man remains a fugitive". Khaleej Times. June 13, 2006.
  11. ^ "Magyar Narancs: Oszama bin Ladennel is üzletelt Orbán új szomszédja". Retrieved October 20, 2016.
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