Abbas Kasimali Gokal ( ur, عباس ‎گوکل; born in 1936) is a Pakistani businessman, who was chairman of the Gulf Shipping Lines, once the largest shipping empire in the world. Gokal was convicted of

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

in May 1997 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was charged with defrauding the

Bank of Credit and Commerce International The Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) was an international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. A decade after opening, BCC ...

(BCCI) of US$1.2 billion and was the world's biggest single fraudster at the time. His company, the Gulf Group, was the BCCI's single largest borrower.

Early life

Abbas Gokal was born in 1936, in the erstwhile

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was born into a Shia family. During the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, the Gokal family moved to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. When the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown, the Gokal family moved to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Gokal had brothers; Mustafa and Murtaza Gokal.

Gulf International Holdings

The three brothers: Abbas, Mustafa and Murtaza Gokal, had set up the Gulf Group (officially Gulf International Holdings) in

. In 1969, they started the Gulf Shipping Lines, the flagship company of the Gulf business group. Gulf Shipping Lines was registered and headquartered in Geneva. In the beginning, the company used to transport cargo through the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

from

. Gulf Shipping Lines was well known for shipping to ports in which other companies were hesitant to ship to. A notable example was

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. The Gulf Shipping Lines was the prime shipping company that shipped cargo to and from

during the decade-long

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...

. The Gokal brothers envisioned the Gulf Shipping Lines as an international shipping empire, and the company soon expanded all over the

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

. But in the 1980s, the Gulf Shipping Lines was having financial trouble due to the international shipping crisis. In 1984, the company had reached a crisis-point when its creditors sought their money back. That is when the

BCCI The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the worl ...

came to their aid. The Gokal family's relationship with

founder and chairman, Hasan Abedi, dated back to the 1960s. Due to the financial backing, the Gulf Shipping Lines controlled more than 240 vessels. By the early 1980s, the Gulf Group had diversified into many different sectors. These sectors included commodities trading, retailing, hotels, mining and real-estate. Thanks to this business diversification, Gokal's personal fortune was estimated to be over £20 million, while his business group was worth billions. His credit card bills amounted to over £250,000.

BCCI scandal

In 1991, the Luxembourg-based

was shut down by its regulators. It was discovered that the bank was running on loss for many years. It used to give out phoney loans, concealed deposits and hid their huge losses, which ran into billions of dollars. The bank was alleged to hide and launder the money of dictators, drug lords, and even terrorists. One of the main men behind the collapse was Abbas Gokal. The Gulf Group had an almost US$1.2 billion loan from the BCCI. He was the single largest borrower, and the loans were used to fund his own lifestyle instead of his company. The bank's auditors,

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

, discovered that the bank had given them US$1.2 billion via 700 offshore companies. This money used to be funneled into the Gulf Group like a 'giant washing machine'. When the bank collapsed, the Gulf Group collapsed with it. As the scandal was discovered,

Swiss Police Law enforcement in Switzerland is mainly a responsibility of the 26 cantons of Switzerland, who each operate cantonal police agencies. Some cities also operate municipal police agencies as provided for by cantonal law. The federal government p ...

raided the Gulf Group head office in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. The Sheikh of Abu Dhabi (one of the main investors in the BCCI) himself lost £312 million to the Gulf Group's collapse. Gokal and his two brothers had escaped to

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...

officials and the Serious Fraud Office wanted Gokal on trial. However, he could not be extradited to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

as it had no extradition treaty with

. Gokal had agreed to travel to the United States for an interview with an attorney. He was said to have information on corrupt American officials. On 18 July 1994, he left for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. When his plane had stopped for refuelling at

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

German police Law enforcement in Germany is constitutionally vested solely with the states, which is one of the main features of the German political system. Policing has always been a responsibility of the German states even after 1871 when the country was ...

arrested him and had him extradited to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Trial and imprisonment

Gokal was tried in May 1997 and found guilty of conspiring to funnel money out of the

, which later contributed to the bank's collapse. He was sentenced to fourteen years in jail and confiscation of all his assets. His two brothers, Mustafa and Murtaza, were safe in

. His sentence was the longest sentence that a British court handed out for fraud. Gokal served his sentence at the high-security Whitemoor Prison in

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

Release

Gokal was released from imprisonment in the UK in 2003. He served only 9 years of his 14-year sentence. He was reported to be living in West London (Ealing) as of 2003.

Personal life

Abbas Gokal is married to Rukaiya Gokal. They both have a daughter, Sukaiyna. Sukaiyna works in the ship management sector of Univan Ship Management. Gokal was noted to be a family-oriented man. The judge that sentenced him even noted and appreciated the fact that Gokal always put his family above everything. Gokal's affluence extended to having a house on New York's Fifth Avenue, multiple houses in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, private jets and Rolls-Royces. One of his brothers, Mustafa Gokal, served as the financial advisor to President Zia-ul-Haq and Supreme Leader

Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...

. Coming from a

Shia Muslim Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...

background, the Gokal's are Khoja Ithna'Asheri. Abbas Gokal's uncle, Shaheed Abdul Hussein Gokal, was martyred in

. He was a greatly respected philanthropist and religious activist, and his loss was mourned by many across Iraq and the subcontinent. The family was forced to leave

. The Gokal's were amongst the first Muslim families in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

to rally behind

's banner, after the

Islamic Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

References

Sources

Behind the Collapse of a Behemoth

BCCI Scandal Long Legal Wranglings

Sequel to Biggest Banking Fraud in History – Band of Credit and Commerce International

On the Trail of Gokal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokal, Abbas 1930s births Living people Pakistani fraudsters G Prisoners and detainees of the United Kingdom Pakistani people imprisoned abroad Year of birth missing (living people) Pakistani expatriates in Iraq Pakistani businesspeople Pakistani Shia Muslims Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom