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BAE Systems whistleblower accuses Shell & BP of money laundering Al-Yamamah proceeds

IDscan-finalUPDATED DECEMBER 2010

A BAE Systems insider from the AL-Yamamah and AL-Salam Projects in Saudi Arabia, is supplying internal BAE, Saudi, and UK MOD documents to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) which is carrying out an investigation into alleged corruption.

The samples we have seen include correspondence between high ranking officers in the British and Saudi military responsible for administering the Al-Yamamah oil-for-arms barter deal.

One example is a letter marked”SECRET” from Brigadier General Prince Turki Bin Nasser Bin Addul Aziz, Royal Saudi Air Force Al-Yamamah Project Officer, to an MOD Air Marshal within Project Al-Yamamah.

Extract from a Guardian newspaper article “Prince Turki: The man with everything“:

“The man who allegedly received most from BAE’s £60m slush fund, Turki bin Nasser, is a rich man. He has nearly 200 classic cars, a £20m private Boeing business jet, a large yacht called the Sarah, a sumptuous mansion in Beverly Hills and houses in Barcelona, Riyadh, Dharan and London. His London home is in Sussex Square, near Hyde Park.”

The UK Serious Fraud Office has investigated allegations of bribery relating to BAE and the Saudi royal family. The UK government stopped the investigation in the face of threats from the Saudis.

We have already published information revealing the involvement of the MOD, Shell, BP and BAE Systems in the controversial arms-for-oil project. There are articles published somewhere in the world almost every day about alleged BAE corruption. The following is an extract from an article published in The Times on 22 September 2009.

At about the same time Tony Blair was overriding the law of the land in unprecedented fashion to protect the Saudi Royal Family from a corruption investigation in connection with a BAE deal. Legally it was a scandal, but to do otherwise would have put a huge defence contract at risk (you could hear the French salivating), not to speak of the incidental disadvantage of severing anti-terrorist co-operation with Riyadh, which the Saudis had blatantly threatened.

The controversial decision to stop the SFO investigation – an unprecedented act which generated an international outcry that the UK was not meeting its obligations to combat corruption – undoubtedly damaged the reputation and standing of the UK.

In reaction to the astonishing surrender, the US issued a formal diplomatic protest and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) subsequently launched its own investigation, which is still in progress. Two BAE bosses were detained when they landed in the USA on business. Like the recent release of the Lockerbie bomber Megrahi to appease the Libyan Dictator Gaddafi (which also gravely damaged Britain’s relationship with the USA), oil was the main factor in the humiliating capitulation.

We have confirmed with an authoritative Washington DC source that the BAE whistleblower has, as he claims, already been in contact with the US DoJ.  His discussions with the DoJ took place in the USA. He has insider knowledge of the AL-Yamamah arms agreement between the UK and Saudi Arabia and alleges that BAE, Shell and BP are all complicit in orchestrating an international oil-money laundering scheme using the armament umbrella that for decades has remained shrouded in secrecy.

The whistleblower approached us because of the key role played by Shell in the oil-for-arms deal.  Shell has a close business relationship, on an international basis, with the Saudi regime via the state owned oil company, Saudi Aramco.

BAE Whistleblower Allegations

  • Claims documents in his possession reveal how the laundered proceeds of oil sales under the Al-Yamamah agreement have been funneled by BAE, Shell and BP into various international financial systems.
  • Proceeds of these oil sales were deposited in a secret bank account in London controlled by Prince Bandar and his father Crown Prince Sultan. The funds were in turn invested in various US securities and into the US stock market.
  • AL-Yamamah has been, since 1985, “the smuggling proxy for Shell and BP tankers to loot millions of oil barrels from Ras Tanura to Rotterdam, where it is sold until this very day”.
  • Bribes were paid to Prince Bandar from the revenues generated from money laundering the oil sales proceeds and deposited  into a US account at Riggs Bank in Washington and secret bank accounts in Switzerland.

The BAE whistleblower has supplied us with a statement which makes these and other serious allegations.

We have not read all of the documents, so we cannot say if the content substantiates the allegations made by the whistleblower. What we can say is that his claims as to being employed by BAE in Saudi Arabia, his possession of secret Al-Yamamah project documents, and his discussions in the USA with the US DoJ concerning supply of the documents as evidence in their BAE corruption investigation, are all genuine.

It is our understanding that the documents are being supplied to the US DoJ to coincide with the publication of this article and the imminent publication of a statement by the whistleblower. Consequently, the DoJ will have the opportunity to assess and determine the relevance and weight of the documentary evidence.

A decision by the UK Serious Fraud Office is expected later today regarding bringing a prosecution against BAE Systems in relation to alleged bribery in Tanzania, the Czech Republic, Romania and South Africa.

Update MARCH 2010: Link to legal document arising from BAE settlement of US Department of Justice charges.

RELATED ARTICLES

BAE Systems pleads guilty to conspiracy and is sentenced to pay a $400M fine: 1 March 2010

High Court halts BAE plea deal with SFO: 2 March 2010

Anti-arms campaigners halt SFO deal with BAE: 2 March 2010

BAE protesters win SFO injunction: 3 March 2010

Defense Contractor Agrees to Pay $400 Million Criminal Fine: 8 March 2010

Shell money laundering role in Saudi/BAE Systems corruption scandal: 20 December 2010

You wouldn’t wish the vile Saudi regime on your worst enemy: 27 Jan 2015

EXTRACT

It makes your skin crawl, doesn’t it?

President Obama leading a delegation of high level American officials – including John Kerry, John McCain, Condoleezza Rice and Nancy Pelosi – to pay homage to one of the most draconian, despotic rulers in the world.

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah presided over a regime that treated women like dirt, banned everything from snowmen to trendy haircuts, and dished out regular floggings, stonings and beheadings to anyone who dared raise even a quizzical eyebrow at its appalling human rights record.

Add to that the numerous allegations of complicity in the 9/11 attacks by Saudi individuals and entities and it’s perfectly understandable why Abdullah’s death, for many Americans, was a cause for celebration not mourning.

SHELL CONNECTION WITH THE SAUDI ARABIA / AL YAMAMAH BAE ARMS SCANDAL: ACCESS TO DETAILED EVIDENCE

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