Part 1/10:

The Troubling Legacy of BCCI and its Echoes in Tether

The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) is often remembered as a scandal-ridden financial institution that collapsed in 1991 under the weight of major investigations into corruption and illegal activities. Originally framed as a development bank aimed at "banking the unbanked" in the Global South, its reality was far more sinister. Widely implicated in money laundering for arms and drug trafficking, BCCI was revealed to have ties to the CIA and questionable agencies involved in sex trafficking of minors. Despite the damning findings in a U.S. Senate report, the details surrounding BCCI’s operations faded from public memory, partly due to a lack of thorough investigation and accountability.