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Here is a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

 Jury Convicts Banker in BCCI-Related Case
 To: National and Business Desks
 Contact: Dean St. Dennis of the U.S. Department of Justice,
          Office of Public Affairs, 202-514-2007

   ATLANTA, March 31 -- The Department of Justice announced 
that a federal jury here today returned two guilty verdicts against 
a former senior official of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) 
in a case that grew out of the government's investigation of
the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).
   The guilty verdicts on the felony counts were returned against
William W. Batastini, former senior officer and director of both NBG
and NBG Financial Corp.
   Batastini was convicted of conspiring to defraud the Internal
Revenue Service, to receive an unlawful reward, and to misapply NBG
funds.  He also was convicted of filing a false income tax return.
   The co-defendants in the case are Tariq Jamil, a former officer of
NBG; Ghaith R. Pharaon, former owner of NBG; and Swaleh Naqvi, a
former officer of BCCI.  All are fugitives.  Pharaon previously was
indicted in Washington, D.C., on racketeering charges arising out of
his participation with BCCI in the acquisition of Independence Bank
in Encino, Calif., and NBG, and a fraudulent bond issue at CenTrust
Savings Bank in Miami.  BCCI has pleaded guilty to co-owning NBG with
Pharaon.
   NBG was purchased by First American Bank in 1987 and renamed First
American Bank of Georgia.
   This was the first trial completed in the most recent series of
BCCI-related indictments.  The trial was handled by Justice
Department attorneys Jennemarie Gardes of the Fraud Section of the
Criminal Division and Joseph Bender and Joseph Giannullo of the Tax
Division.  The investigation was conducted by Special Agents Steve
McGinty of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Donna Hoffman of
the Internal Revenue Service.
 -30-
-- 
Nigel Allen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada    ndallen@r-node.hub.org