Who was convicted in the FBI sting operation which ideotaped politicians accepting bribes from a fraudulent Arabian company in return for various political favors?
Richard Kelly (politician) Richard Kelly (July 31, 1924 – August 22, 2005) was an American politician from Florida. He was a Republican convicted of taking bribes in the 1980 Abscam scandal.
Ghaith Pharaon Ghaith Rashad Pharaon (September 7, 1940 – January 6, 2017), was a Saudi businessman who was at one time an investor in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), an international bank established by Pakistani financier Agha Hasan Abedi. 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.