The timing is ideal — a compelling, action-packed thriller about a massive multinational corporation that is up to no good. Take your pick, this movie could have been about any number of real life corporations that are in the headlines these days. We are sure to see more films in the corporate bad guy genre in years to come; there is simply no shortage of material out there. And in fact, this film was inspired by the Bank of Credit and Commerce International banking scandal that broke in the 90s. More on that in a bit.
The International is an American-German action thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. The film follows a pair that investigates corruption within a powerful bank: the International Bank of Business and Credit. Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are determined to bring the bank down for its flagrant practices. The pair gradually uncovers illegal activities including money laundering, arms trading, and the destabilization of governments. The investigation takes them from Berlin to Milan, where the IBBC assassinates an Italian prime ministerial candidate who was not a fan of the bank.
Following a lead on the assassin to Manhattan, Salinger is involved in a gunfight in the Guggenheim. Art lovers beware; this is a tough scene to handle. Keep in mind it takes place in a set in Germany. An ally of Salinger’s in the NYPD tracks down the assassin’s handler, who helps Salinger reach Istanbul, where the CEO of the IBBC is conducting an arms deal. After Salinger’s plan to record the CEO’s conversation and expose him as a fraud is bungled, Salinger faces off with him on a rooftop. After the CEO explains that killing him will accomplish nothing, since many other unscrupulous bankers would eagerly take his place, the CEO is killed by an assassin hired by the family of the assassinated Italian politician. During the credits, we see newspaper clips that reveal that the bank continues with its plans and is successful, regardless of the death of its CEO. Clearly you can kill a banker, but not the will of collective greed. Good luck with that project President Obama.
As for art imitating life, on to the defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). BCCI was a major international bank registered in Luxembourg and founded in Karachi, Pakistan in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a leading Pakistani financier. It operated in around 80 countries and had assets in excess of US$ 20 billion making it the 7th largest private bank in the world by assets. In 1991 BCCI became the focus of one of the largest scandals in world financial history. Regulators in the U.S. and the UK discovered the bank’s involvement in money laundering, bribery, support of terrorism, arms trafficking, the sale of nuclear technologies, the commission and facilitation of tax evasion, smuggling, illegal immigration, and the illicit purchases of banks and real estate. Yes, boys will be boys.
Investigators revealed that BCCI had been “set up deliberately to avoid centralized regulatory review, and operated extensively in bank secrecy jurisdictions.” Bank officers were sophisticated criminals whose objective was to keep their affairs secret, to commit fraud on a massive scale. After more than a decade of lawsuits, the liquidators were able to recover 75% of the lost funds.
Again, there is no shortage of material along these lines. Stay tuned for more action-packed thrillers at a theater near you!
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