Daily Telegraph: US prosecutors help Shell close chapter on reserves scandal
Friday 1 July 2005
By Christopher Hope, Business Correspondent (Filed: 01/07/2005)
Shell will not face charges from United States prosecutors after the oil and gas giant admitted last year that it had over-exaggerated its proven reserves by a quarter.
However the US Department of Justice said it was “still evaluating” the case against individual directors involved.
The scandal resulted in the resignations of Sir Phil Watts, chairman and Walter van der Vijver, head of exploration and production.
David Kelley, US lawyer for the Southern District of New York, took the decision because Shell had paid millions of dollars in fines and had taken steps to ensure that such a scandal can never happen again.
Shell paid $120m (£65.7m) to the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission last year and was hit with a £17m fine by the Financial Services Authority – the heaviest penalty ever imposed by the UK regulator.
Mr Kelley said: “Because Shell has co-operated fully with the Government’s investigation, has implemented substantial remedial efforts to enhance its reserves reporting and compliance, and has paid a $120m civil penalty to the SEC, the public interest has been sufficiently vindicated.
“Moreover, criminal prosecution would likely have a severe and unintended disproportionate economic impact upon thousands of innocent Shell employees.”
Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive who was drafted in to fill the role vacated by Sir Phil, welcomed the news. He said: “Shell appreciates Mr Kelley’s decision. The conclusion of this investigation is a most important step toward putting the matter of reserves reclassification behind us.”
Shell has been told by Dutch securities regulator AFM that its investigation does not give rise to any further action. However, it is still being investigated by the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange and Shell is also facing class action lawsuits in the US.
The group is in talks with the legal representatives of the plaintiffs in the US to settle the case without the need for further litigation.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
