Federal authorities in New York have arrested an investment banker and major Democratic party donor on charges he lied to Citibank to get a $74 million loan.
Hassan Nemazee is charged with bank fraud for allegedly giving Citibank documents showing he had millions of dollars in collateral when he applied for the loans. The documents were "fraudulent and forged," a federal complaint reads.
In the documents, Nemazee referenced accounts that never existed or had been closed years before, the complaint said.
Authorities said FBI agents interviewed Nemazee on Aug. 23. and he paid off the loan the next day.
Nemazee, 59, currently has residences on Park Avenue and Katonah, New York, federal official said.
Even if Nemazee's name isn't known to the wider public, he's got plenty of clout in the political world. As one of the premiere money people on the East Coast, Nemazee’s apartment "has been the site of visit after visit by prospective 2008 candidates hoping for a taste of his homemade Chinese food and considerable financial influence," according to the Observer.
The Iranian-American businessman is a Harvard grad and one of the Democratic party's most influential bundlers.
He was acting Finance Chairman to Hillary Clinton's 2007-2008 presidential campaign. He also donated $50,000 to Barack Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee.
Former president Bill Clinton nominated Nemazee to act a U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, but the Senate refused to confirm him after Forbes Magazine published a damaging exposé of his financial dealings.
Nemazee was also the New York Finance Chair for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and is heavily involved in U.S. - Iranian foreign policy. He was a member of the American-Iranian Council, a U.S. non-governmental organization and lobbying group that was given the rare approval by the U.S. Treasury Department last year to operate in Iran.
