"Among the old guard at Cazenove which was subsumed by J.P. Morgan, though the British franchise still bears its name Hannam was regarded as a bit of a barbarian.
He bragged about his wealth.
He had appalling table manners.
"I've got more degrees than I can count, but I still talk like I'm illiterate, and my colleagues hate me for it," he'd say.
From Congo to Colombia, from Iraq to Sierra Leone, Hannam and his small team of soldiers-turned-bankers and advisers did business with oligarchs, gem dealers, and former mercenaries. He could be bracingly direct.
When he landed in Baghdad for a meeting with Iraq's oil minister, the minister asked, "What are you here for?"
"I'm here to make five new Iraqi billionaires every year for the next 10 years," Hannam said with a twinkle in his eyes. It was an effective icebreaker, recalled his friend Richard Williams, a former SAS commander who is now CEO of the Afghan gold mine. "They're all thinking, 'How can I be one of those?' Which is not a question that a minister should be thinking."
There lies the Afghan prize... Not only were JPM 'guests' of the US Military, but The Pentagon also kindly rolled-out the same red carpet for Goldman execs a few months ago...
Nice to have friends in high places eh?
http://muslimmedianetwork.com/mmn/?p=8492
http://news.yahoo.com/afghanistan-opens-bids-gold-copper-deposits-065012087.html
