Kuwaiti Charged With Fraud Found Dead

Diana Elias, Associated Press Writer

KUWAIT CITY -- A Kuwaiti businessman linked to Citigroup(C Quote) and charged in the United States with fraud committed suicide Sunday, a security official said.

Hazem al-Braikan was found dead in his bed with a gunshot wound to the head and a handgun at his side, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he did not have the full details.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged al-Braikan last week with scheming to make millions by manipulating the stock of certain U.S. companies. The SEC said it was freezing more than $5 million in profits believed to have been made off the questionable deals by al-Braikan and three companies with whom he is associated.

Al-Braikan was CEO of Al-Raya Investment Co. which is 10% owned by the New York-based Citigroup Inc.

The SEC says al-Braikan's company as well as two other companies -- the United Gulf Bank and KIPCO Asset Management Co. -- traded shares based on two phony announcements. One announcement faxed to media outlets July 19 and subsequently reported on the Internet the following day stated that a Middle Eastern investment group made an offer to acquire Stamford, Connecticut-based electronic systems maker Harman International Industries(HAR Quote).

Harman was forced to issue a statement last Monday denying it had been approached by a mysterious Gulf investor known as the Arabian Peninsula Group following a number of media reports. The company's shares tumbled sharply once the hoax was revealed.

In April, rumors and a report in a Kuwaiti newspaper that a consortium of Middle East companies was offering to buy Textron(TXT Quote) sent shares of the Providence, Rhode Island company soaring more than 50% in a single day. No deal for the manufacturer of Bell helicopters, Cessna jets and turf-maintenance equipment emerged, and shares plunged a few days later.