Al-Yamamah arms deal

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Event.png Al-Yamamah arms deal (fraud,  arms deal) Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
DateSeptember 1985 - August 2006
Interest ofSavoy Mafia
DescriptionA 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]

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

Cercle member (later chairman) and UK Defense Procurement Minister, Jonathan Aitken 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]

2004 (SFO) Investigation

A 2004 UK investigation by the Serious Fraud Office was stopped towards the end of 2006 just as Swiss banks were preparing to release details of the accounts held by middle men in the deal. In 2006 Saudi Arabia stated that they would stop supplying the UK with intelligence about al-Qaida terrorists if the investigation was continued, and were given two weeks to shut it down as SFO investigators were that they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they carried on. Tony Blair wrote a "secret and personal" letter to the Attorney General, Peter Goldsmith and the investigation was stopped.[4][5]

US investigation

The US Justice Department decided to launch its own investigation since the payments had been channelled through a US bank in Washington.[5] By 2009, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, (Saudi ambassador to the US for 20 years, 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.[6]

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.[7]


 

Related Document

TitleTypePublication dateAuthor(s)Description
Document:Closing the Stable Doorwebpage6 March 2007Richard Donkin
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