Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 31, 1993 TAG: 9303310121
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Prosecutor John Moscow charged that over a decade the prominent Washington attorney lied to bank regulators, depositors and wealthy Middle Eastern investors about Bank of Credit and Commerce International's clandestine role in U.S. banks.
Altman's lawyer called the charges ridiculous.
The state trial, which could last months, is expected to shed new insight into BCCI activities. The bank collapsed in 1991.
Moscow, an assistant district attorney, told jurors during a 2 1/2-hour opening statement: "This is not a difficult case. . . . The defendant, a lawyer, deceived people and obtained millions of dollars."
Altman appeared calm. His three sisters, parents and wife sat directly behind him, at times wincing as Moscow described his alleged crimes.
Seconds after Moscow finished his opening statement, defense lawyer Gustave Newman leapt to his feet and denounced it.
"What you have just heard characterizes the whole prosecution - coverups, leaving out key facts, and don't tell them everything," Newman shouted.
He disputed Moscow's account of key meetings and letters between BCCI and U.S. bank regulators.
Altman, 46, is the law partner of Clark Clifford, the former defense secretary and a legendary force in Democratic politics. Clifford, 86, was indicted, but his trial has been delayed because he had heart surgery.
Altman faces state charges of taking bribes, fraud, false statements and falsifying business records. Each of the eight counts carries a maximum four years in prison.
The case centers on an elaborate scheme by BCCI, considered one of the most corrupt banks in history, to expand illegally into the United States by purchasing a major Washington bank, First American Bankshares Inc., and acquiring National Bank of Georgia, once owned by former Carter administration official Bert Lance.
Moscow said Altman and Clifford were central to the scheme and described what he called their multiple roles as attorneys for Middle Eastern investors who bought First American's parent company, and as attorneys and officers for an offshore company called Credit and Commerce American Holdings.
Clifford was chairman and Altman president of First American Bank from the early 1980s until 1991. Both deny they did anything wrong. They've maintained they knew nothing of an illegal BCCI role in their bank.
Moscow said Clifford devised a scheme that allowed wealthy Persian Gulf investors to claim ownership in the First American parent company, when in fact BCCI executives controlled the shares.
He also described a detailed scheme by Clifford and Altman to deceive federal regulators in 1982 when the Middle Eastern investors applied to buy First American.
"They painted a picture, and the picture they painted is that BCCI would not be involved. That picture was false," Moscow said.
BCCI had a role in hiring executives for First American Bank of New York, an affiliate of the Washington bank. Altman was director of the New York bank and knew of the recommendations made to BCCI founder Agha Hasan Abedi.
Altman's attorney called the prosecution's argument distorted and a coverup designed to deflect criticism that regulators didn't know the extent of BCCI's influence in the U.S. banking business.
He was particularly scornful of charges against Clifford, regarded as one of Washington's renowned statesmen.
Newman told jurors the prosecution wanted them to believe that Clifford found "a bunch of strange Arabs and said, `Strange Arabs, let's get together and mislead the government agencies that I've served all my life.' "
by CNB