Background
Ghaith Pharaon is the son of the former Saudi Ambassador to all Europe from 1948 until 1954.
Ghaith Pharaon is the son of the former Saudi Ambassador to all Europe from 1948 until 1954.
He attended schools in Lebanon, Syria and Switzerland.
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 are still seeking his extradition.
His university education was in the United States at the Colorado School of Mines from 1958 to 1961 (in which he received a doctorate) followed by the Stanford University from 1962 to 1963. And Harvard Business School from 1963 to 1965 (until his graduation).
After graduating from Harvard, Pharaon formed the Saudi Research And Development Corporation, Limited. (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 Number.
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 District of Columbia bank, First American Bankshares, on behalf of BCCI. This eventually led to criminal charges against him in the United States. Pharaon serves as Chair of Attock Petroleum.
He also serves as the Chairman of National Refinery and Attock Cement Pakistan Limited.
He served as the Chairman of Attock Refinery Limited. until February 18, 2011. He serves as a Director of Pakistan Oilfields, the Attock Refinery Limited., Attock Cement Pakistan Limited and the National Refinery Limited.
Military contracts
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.
Fugitive
Pharaon has been wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1991 for his role in a massive fraud "involving millions of dollars" in the financial collapse of BCCI. Personal life
The extremely wealthy Pharaon is known to be quite fond of cigars, He lives in his super yacht, which he named Le Pharaon after himself and this repeatedly been 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.
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.