Difference between revisions of "Al-Yamamah arms deal"
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|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Yamamah_arms_deal | |wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Yamamah_arms_deal | ||
|constitutes=fraud, arms deal | |constitutes=fraud, arms deal | ||
| − | |description=A multi billion dollar fraudulent arms deal set up under the government of Margaret Thatcher, involving a bunch of deep state | + | |description=A multi billion dollar fraudulent arms deal set up under the government of Margaret Thatcher, involving a bunch of deep state arms dealers, and her son - who earned £12 million. The total fines have been in the hundreds of millions, while profits and kickbacks are counted in billions. |
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| − | It was reported in the British press and later confirmed | + | It was reported in the British press and later confirmed that the British government took a 2 percent fee from the Al-Yamamah accounts, which amounts to close to $1.6 billion over the life of the 20-plus year contract. <ref>http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/05/bae-saudi-yamamah-deal-background</ref> |
==Origins== | ==Origins== | ||
Revision as of 19:57, 14 May 2015
| Date | September 1985 - August 2006 |
|---|---|
| Interest of | Savoy Mafia |
| Description | A multi billion dollar fraudulent arms deal set up under the government of Margaret Thatcher, involving a bunch of deep state arms dealers, and her son - who earned £12 million. The total fines have been in the hundreds of millions, while profits and kickbacks are counted in billions. |
It was reported in the British press and later confirmed that the British government took a 2 percent fee from the Al-Yamamah accounts, which amounts to close to $1.6 billion over the life of the 20-plus year contract. [1]
Contents
Origins
The deal between BAE Systems and the Saudi Arabian government appears to have been brokered by a range of deep state actors, including Le Cercle member Jonathan Aitken. Also involved were Bandar bin Sultan and Wafic Saïd (who used Mark Thatcher as a channel to his mother, the UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher).[2]
Investigations
An audit of the Al-Yamamah account at the British Ministry of Defence was conducted by the U.K. government under Sir John Bourn[2] in 1992, but was considered so secret that even members of the Public Accounts Committee were not allowed to see it, after Robert Sheldon has talks with .[3] Before its ascendancy to power, the Labour government promised to publish this report, but never did.[4]
Charged with running a slush fund, BAE Systems' chief executive Mike Turner didn't deny the charge. At a press conference following the revelations, he stated, "They are old allegations and they are old hat. They are history." Turner added, "Everything we do is legal and that is all I am prepared to say. Whatever the law is, we are legal."[4]
Legal proceedings
Different jurisdictions have tried to apply different laws, with varying success.
UK Investigations
Defense Procurement Minister Jonathan Aiken played a key role in setting up Al-Yamamah II. He was imprisoned in 1993 for letting the Saudis pick up his tab at the Paris Ritz.[4]
Mark Thatcher's role
In 1994 Tam Dalyell charged that Mark Thatcher collected a £12 million commission from the deal. The government did not confirm or deny it, but the authorities declined to investigate.[2]
2006 (SFO) Investigation
A 2006 UK investigation by the Serious Fraud Office was stopped by the personal intervention of Tony Blair.[4]
US investigation
By 2009, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, later to become Director of the Saudi Intelligence agency, had hired Louis Freeh (former FBI Director) to represent him on legal matters surrounding the deal.[5]
In 2010, BAE Systems pled guilty to a United States court, to charges of false accounting and making misleading statements in connection with the sales.[6]
Related Document
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Closing the Stable Door | webpage | 6 March 2007 | Richard Donkin |
- ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/feb/05/bae-saudi-yamamah-deal-background
- ↑ a b c http://www.independent.co.uk/news/mark-thatcher-accused-sources-say-he-got-12m-pounds-from-arms-deal-signed-by-his-mother-1441851.html
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2941537/Twenty-years-of-smokescreen-over-Saudi-deal.html
- ↑ a b c d http://www.propagandamatrix.com/121103baedirtydealings.html
- ↑ http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/2009/04/louis-freeh-interview.html
- ↑
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