Maher Rashid, an Iraqi living in Kirkuk, was living a normal life when someone convinced him that $800 million were deposited in his name in Lebanon’s Audi Bank. He was led to believe that he will reap a big share of the deposit if he cooperated to restore the funds from the bank. The end result saw Rashid’s arrest in Beirut for four months when it appeared that the documents these sides had presented to him were fake. The development led to the discovery of an Iraqi gang that was trying to seize funds that the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein had allegedly deposited in Lebanese banks. The billions of dollars were deposited under the names of people who have since died or whose whereabouts are unknown or who do not dare to come out into the open. Rashid’s story paved the way in February for Lebanese investigations into such incidents that had taken place at more than one Lebanese bank. A Lebanese source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Iraqi figures had arrived in Beirut some two days ago with documents claiming that they have $400 million deposited in Lebanese banks. They tried to appoint a Lebanese lawyer to the case, saying the funds were deposited in two major banks in 1999. These Iraqis, however, disappeared from the scene when news broke out over the arrest of the main gang back in Iraq. Lebanese authorities are trying to determine if these individuals were still in Lebanon. The gang had on more than four documented occasions tried to withdraw funds from Lebanese banks. It had also sought to extort the bank by threatening to carry out smear campaigns against them if these funds were not given to them. Lebanese General Security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the arrest of the gang took place n complete coordination between General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim and Iraq’s national intelligence agency. Abbas made frequent visits to Baghdad to follow up on the case. The sources added that the General Security saw the revelations as a threat to the reputation of Lebanon’s banking sector, “which therefore demanded immediate action.” They confirmed that the gangs forged documents on the existence of deposits in Lebanese banks, which had been threatened to have their reputation tarnished if they did not comply with their demands. So far, no Lebanese individuals have been implicated in the case. Iraqi security had announced that it had uncovered a scam network whose members were spreading false information in order to extort Lebanese banks. Audi Bank issued a statement, thanking all concerned powers, starting with Ibrahim, for their efforts to bring the perpetrators to justice. In February, Lebanon’s judiciary had charged a three-member gang with attempting to scam Audi Bank. The suspects, two of whom are on the run and one who is in custody, claimed that they had documents proving that they had each received $400 million from one of the bank’s directors, Freddie Baz, and its current General Director, Samir Hanna. Lawyer Hussein Qazan recounted to Asharq Al-Awsat how he had received a telephone call from one of the Iraqis requesting a meeting at his Beirut office. The meeting took place and Maher Rashid was among the attendees. Rashid explained that he has a deposit in Audi Bank worth $800 million, demanding that he obtain it through negotiations or the judiciary. Qazan said that he was handed documents to support the claim. At this, the lawyer alerted his client of the dangerous repercussions if those documents turned out to be fake. Qazan then contacted Hanna and Baz to inform them of Rashid’s claim, showing them the documents that had both of their signatures. Audi Bank refuted the allegations, saying that no such deposit existed in their banks. The Lebanese indictment in the case revealed that Rashid had confessed to investigators that had received three months ago a telephone call from a friend who told him that a sum of $800 million was deposited in his name in a Lebanese bank. He was offered help to obtain the funds, but his friend and conspirators soon disappeared from the scene and Rashid has so far failed to provide the funds to hire a defense lawyer.