national presence in the United States, in 1986. JWT was acquired by the WPP plc, a London-based marketing and communications holding company, in 1987. In 1989, Hill & Knowlton acquired Canada's largest PR agency, the Public Affairs Resource Group. Also during the late 1980s, Hill & Knowlton represented the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) during its money laundering scandal. Hill & Knowlton's work was investigated by a U.S. Senate subcommittee, and allegations were made that the firm had pressured regulators to not investigate the bank, though no evidence was found to support the claims. After BCCI was convicted of money laundering, the firm severed their relationship with BCCI. Hill & Knowlton was hired in 1990 by Citizens for a Free Kuwait, a group predominantly funded by the Government of Kuwait, to assist its campaign for U.S. intervention in response to the invasion and annexation of Kuwait by Iraq. The firm arranged for a Kuwaiti girl, known only as Nayirah, to testify in October 1990 to the Human Rights Caucus of the United States Congress about events she had allegedly witnessed. She reported seeing Iraqi soldiers remove babies from incubators in Kuwaiti hospitals and leave them to die. Her testimony was used to build U.S. public and congressional support for the Gulf War. It was later discovered that she was the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador to the United States and that her story was false. Hill & Knowlton was accused of spreading false information to increase support for the Gulf War, which the company denied. The company received around $10 million for their work for Citizens for a Free Kuwait. Hill & Knowlton represented The Church of Scientology from 1987 until May 1991. The Church of Scientology then sued the firm, claiming that their contract was terminated because Hill & Knowlton was pressured to do so by Eli Lilly and Company, a client of JWT. Eli Lilly and Company produce the drug Prozac, which the Church staunchly and publicly opposed. The matter was settled out of court. 2000s to present The firm continued to expand through acquisitions in the 2000s, including the acquisition of a portion of Argentine company Vox Consulting in 2000, Miami-based public relations agency SAMCOR in 2002, and a majority ownership of the Hong Kong-based Rikes Communications in 2008. In 2010, the company opened three new offices in China as well as new offices in