In January, Roger Tamraz briefly resurfaced in Lebanon’s news scene. The 69-year-old Lebanese-American businessman, who has been wanted by the Lebanese authorities for years, was arrested in Morocco and released a few days later, despite an extradition request from Beirut.

It’s not the first time the Lebanese justice system has tried and failed to get its hands on Tamraz, whose history in the country is paved by bankruptcies and scandal. The Lebanese authorities have been seeking him since 1987, when local courts convicted Tamraz on several counts and sentenced him to a 33-year prison term for embezzling $200 million, misusing bank assets and collaborating with the enemy, among other things.

From the beginning. That conviction marked the end of Tamraz’ long and colorful career in the cedar state. Back in 1966, 26-year-old Tamraz had just completed his MBA from Harvard Business School, and arrived in Lebanon for the first time to head a team from Kidder, Peabody & Co. The US investment banking and financial consulting firm had been hired by the Lebanese government to salvage the Middle East’s then largest bank, Intrabank.

Established in 1951 by Palestinian banker Youssef Beidas and three partners, Intra had rapidly become “an international business empire [by investing] huge sums outside the sectors traditional for banks,” says Kamal Dib, a Canadian economist and author of several books on Lebanese businessmen.

By 1963, Intrabank had branches in 15 countries including France, Germany and the United States. In 1966, it ac-counted for 40 percent of deposits across the country, and more than half the banking system’s assets and reserves. Its reach was unheard of in Lebanon, with controlling interest in the national airline, the Beirut Harbor Corporation, the Marseille Harbor in France, a French shipbuilding company, Hotel Phoenicia in Beirut and a slew of other ventures.

But 15 years later, the bank was on the verge of collapse. Beidas’ business strategy had been reckless and his political ambitions had ignited hatred among the Lebanese political caste, precipitating his demise. As a result, both the government and central bank declined to provide Intra with the liquidity it needed to get itself out of trouble. “Those in power were able to save Intra if they wished to, but they did not bother. They preferred to see it sink,” Dib says, adding that Beidas was “a Palestinian who was seen by the Lebanese establishment as a foreigner trying to control the Lebanese economy and buy political influence.”

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