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Ex-BAE middleman charged with bribery

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First ever criminal case is brought during corruption investigations into British weapons manufacturer, which began more than five years ago after disclosures in the Guardian

David Leigh and Rob Evans
Friday 29 January 2010 19.47 GMT

One of BAE’s former confidential agents, Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, was today charged by the Serious Fraud Office with bribery over arms deals. He was remanded in custody in London.

It is the first ever criminal case brought during long-running corruption investigations into the British weapons manufacturer, which began more than five years ago after disclosures in the Guardian.

However, in an unusual turn of events, the attorney general, Lady Scotland, has not yet agreed to let the case proceed. David Huw Williams QC, for the SFO, told Highbury Corner magistrates court that the case should be adjourned for a month while she decided. read more

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.

‘Why We Fight’: The Nature of Modern Imperialism

Britain's oil and gas giants, its mining companies and its arms manufacturers have a powerful and ongoing relationship with government and an effective lobbying influence in the office of successive Prime Ministers.

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.

Secrets of MoD deal are revealed (Shell a key player in al-Yamamah scandal)

The Sunday Telegraph

November 15, 2009

Ministry cannot account for where £1bn went in Saudi oil-for-jets affair

DAVID HENCKE

DETAILS OF a damning secret report into Britain’s biggest ever arms deal, which raises questions over how the Ministry of Defence spent more than £lbillion, can be disclosed for the first time by The Sunday Telegraph.

A National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into the controversial £20 billion al-Yamamah arms deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia found that:

  • The MoD could not properly account for nearly £1billion of cash it paid to British Aerospace (now Bae Systems) at the time of the deal;
  • Bae also “failed to account” for the £1billion;
  • A£30.3 million management fee was paid to Bae even though there was no “legal or contractual obligation” to do so – a payment described by auditors as “irregular”.

Documents also outline how auditors demanded that the Govemment investigate Bae accounts to find out what had happened to the money, and reveal the fears that led to the report being kept secret for 17 years. read more

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.

Arms company bosses embarrassed at AGM

At one point, BAE director Andy Ingils was greeted with laughter and jeers when he said that he wanted to make weapons environmentally friendly.

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.

SFO scarred by BAE Systems, Al-Yamamah, Saudi Arabia corruption scandal (in which Shell played a key role)

Serious Fraud Office: "...attempting to rebuild internal and external confidence in an organisation scarred by the enforced withdrawal, on Government instructions, of its investigation into bribery allegations swirling around BAE Systems and its Al-Yamamah contract with Saudi Arabia."

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.

SFO investigators set to force BAE’s hand

SFO chief Richard Alderman has visited the US to meet Department of Justice investigators who are probing BAE's controversial multi-billion pound al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

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.

Guns From Londonistan: the $350 million fine paid by Lloyds TSB Group

There may be no silver lining in a story that involves Iran being able to spend untold millions on its weapons procurement, but at least this UK institution's actions debunk the popular myth that it is only the U.S. that will conveniently ignore international norms of behavior for the sake of a reliable oil supply.

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.

BAE Arms Contract Bribes Under Investigation in 7 Countries (*Shell at the heart of Al-Yamamah oil-for-arms scandal)

Allegations of bribery by BAE to secure arms contracts are now under investigation by the authorities of seven countries, plus the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development which holds oversight authority over international commitments on corruption. BAE executives have even been detained in the United States for questioning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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.

The Bountiful Bribes From BAE (*Shell was at the heart of the BAE/Saudi scandal)

BAE also got into trouble for paying similar size bribes to Saudi Arabian officials to facilitate a deal for Eurofighters. When British investigators sought to prosecute BAE, the Saudis threatened to cut off counter-terrorism cooperation if the British investigators did not back off. The British government ordered the prosecution halted.

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.

BAE accused of £100m secret payments to seal South Africa arms deal (*BAE and the MoD were Shell’s partners in the Saudi Arabian Al Yamamah oil-for-arms scandal)

This follows the closedown of the SFO's own inquiry in London into BAE's multimillion pound payments to members of the Saudi royal family. Tony Blair, as prime minister, forced the SFO to call off the inquiry on alleged grounds of "national security".

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.

Corruption overseas – Britain’s bribery shame

The UK has been identified for several years by the OECD as one of the worst laggards... This is highlighted by the fact that the suspension of the Al-Yamamah investigation in 2006 – looking at alleged bribes paid by BAE Systems as part of a UK-Saudi Arabia arms deal

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.

Bosses who ignore bribery and corruption face 10 years in jail under new laws (take note Shell)

Britain's international reputation took a battering two years ago when then-Prime Minister Tony Blair called off a Serious Fraud Office inquiry into BAE Systems' multi-billion pound arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

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.

In BAE Probe, U.S. Steps In Where Brits Fear to Tread (the corruption scandal in which Shell played a key role)

The BAE case is four years long, with a complicated history. But it springs from some fairly simple acts: In order to secure a lucrative arms contract, BAE allegedly paid off several Saudi officials, including Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The payments allegedly totaled some $2 billion over nearly two decades.

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.

Expanding multi-country investigation into suspected bribery by BAE Systems to win arms deals

The arrests - which came after raids last month on a number of properties in Britain, Hungary and Austria - highlight the wide range of active probes still facing BAE in the aftermath of the scrapped investigation into its Saudi Arabian arms deals.

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.

OECD ANTI-CORRUPTION REPORT ON UK

British business was branded yesterday with an unprecedented corruption health warning by leading industrialised nations. They were angered by London's dropping of an inquiry into BAE Systems' Saudi Arabian arms deals and its failure to pursue other cases of suspected foreign bribery.

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.

Corrupt to the core *(Shell played a key role in the BAE affair)

The then prime minister, Tony Blair, aided and abetted by a compliant attorney general, personally intervened to stop a criminal investigation into BAE, on the grounds it was upsetting the company, and upsetting the Saudi royal family, who had received many hundreds of millions of pounds in secret payments.

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.

‘Abysmal’ Bribery Laws Shamed *(take note Shell)

The report is expected to attack the UK's record in prosecuting companies and individuals who have paid bribes to foreign public officials.

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.

UK slammed for ‘bribery’ inaction *(take note Shell)

The OECD, the only international body enforcing anti-bribery accords, launched a review of UK anti-bribery measures in the wake of the decision of the Serious Fraud Office in 2006 to drop an investigation into BAE Systems over an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

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.

Warning over UK’s overseas bribes culture *(take note Shell)

The action highlights the rising cost of London’s failure to bring bribery prosecutions against its multinationals when other European countries and the US are pursuing their companies.

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.

Prince Andrews office office confirms sale of house for £15m (inclusive of alleged £3m gift/payment/bribe?)

The Kazakh president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is the other patron of an organisation whose sponsors include Shell...

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.

BAE’s long shadows

Financial Times: BAE’s long shadows

Published: May 6 2008 19:50 | Last updated: May 6 2008 19:50

More than window-dressing but not enough to draw a line under sustained criticism: Lord Woolf’s report on ethical business conduct at BAE Systemscontains 23 specific recommendations to bring about and underpin a serious change of culture at Europe’s largest defence contractor. Yet the Woolf committee’s authority is inevitably diminished by a remit that meant it could not address past corruption allegations, notably in Saudi Arabia.

The report has several practical ideas about how to make ethical behaviour a priority at BAE. It sets new terms for the use of advisers and seeks to end facilitation payments. It gives the board an explicit role in assessing ethical and reputational risk. It demands that BAE commission and publish an independent audit of its conduct within three years. If fully implemented, the report would make BAE a benchmark of best practice in a sector not known for openness. read more

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.