I think more than anyone else Agha Hasaan Abidi's illness became more of a liability for him and us. His Cardiac transplant and subsequent strokes did not help. Rather than anyrhing else BCCI was done in by their own sheer stupidity and overconfidence. They were specifically told not to enter US bankong market. They went ahead and bought a Bank on Capital Hill which had all the accounts of the Congressmen under false pretences and if I remember through a third party. This raised alarms in the US. Their situation was still salvageable but Sheikh Zaid's advisors got scared of US pressure and advised him to stop supporting the Bank. Otherwise 625 million was considered peanuts and Sh Zaid could have covered it himself.
I had a long conversation with someone who was fairly high in the heirarchy of the Bank and hence got this information. At the end of the day this is his account which I think is correct.
A
