Changes

Stephens was named in the court records as having brought Pharon together with Stephens' close friend Bert Lance. Lance was a former [[OMB]] nominee under President [[Jimmy Carter]] who was denied confirmation due to a banking scandal.

Stephens was named in the court records as having brought Pharon together with Stephens' close friend Bert Lance. Lance was a former [[OMB]] nominee under President [[Jimmy Carter]] who was denied confirmation due to a banking scandal.

BCCI founder Agha Hasan Abedi was introduced to Bert Lance by Stephens. Lance asked Clifford to perform [[due diligence]] on BCCI.<ref>BCCI IN THE UNITED STATES, 1992."According to [Bert] Lance, he then turned to Clark Clifford, who had represented him in Congressional hearings into Lance's activities in [[Georgia]], and asked Clifford to do due diligence on BCCI. When Clifford called Lance back to tell Lance that Abedi was "a man of integrity and character," Lance agreed to meet with Abedi and Naqvi in [[London]], and there became BCCI's agent for its forays into the U.S.(15) Thus, by Lance's account, Clifford first had contact with BCCI on behalf of Lance in October, 1977."</ref> Stephens, Lance, and First American Bank director and longtime Democratic party power broker Clark Clifford all maintained that they did not know the group of Pakinstani and Saudi investors headed by Pharon, which they were dealing with, were actually fronting for BCCI.<ref>http://fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm</ref>

BCCI founder Agha Hasan Abedi was introduced to Bert Lance by Stephens. Lance asked Clifford to perform [[due diligence]] on BCCI.<ref>BCCI IN THE UNITED STATES, 1992."According to [Bert] Lance, he then turned to Clark Clifford, who had represented him in Congressional hearings into Lance's activities in [[Georgia]], and asked Clifford to do due diligence on BCCI. When Clifford called Lance back to tell Lance that Abedi was "a man of integrity and character," Lance agreed to meet with Abedi and Naqvi in [[London]], and there became BCCI's agent for its forays into the U.S.(15) Thus, by Lance's account, Clifford first had contact with BCCI on behalf of Lance in October, 1977."</ref> Stephens, Lance, and First American Bank director and longtime Democratic party power broker Clark Clifford all maintained that they did not know the group of Pakinstani and Saudi investors headed by Pharon, which they were dealing with, were actually fronting for BCCI.<ref>https://fas.org/irp/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm</ref>

Clifford, who was 82 at the time and a figurehead who lent his name to give it an air of legitimacy, predicament worsened when it was disclosed he had made about $6 million in [[profits]] from bank stock that he bought with an [[unsecured]] [[loan]] from BCCI. A New York [[grand jury]] handed up indictments, as did the [[Justice Department]]. Clifford's assets in New York, where he kept most of his investments, were frozen.  

Clifford, who was 82 at the time and a figurehead who lent his name to give it an air of legitimacy, predicament worsened when it was disclosed he had made about $6 million in [[profits]] from bank stock that he bought with an [[unsecured]] [[loan]] from BCCI. A New York [[grand jury]] handed up indictments, as did the [[Justice Department]]. Clifford's assets in New York, where he kept most of his investments, were frozen.