“I was paid for marketing services”
The cigar-smoking Prince Bandar bin Sultan has been breezing into the White House and Downing Street for more than 20 years now, working closely with prime ministers and presidents.
His personal Airbus, painted in the silver and blue colours of his favourite American football team, the Dallas Cowboys, is a familiar sight on both sides of the Atlantic, and he has landing rights at RAF Brize Norton, the airfield nearest to his Oxfordshire country estate.
Approached by Mrs Thatcher in December 1984 to ask for help in getting BAE Systems a fresh weapons contract, Prince Bandar got to work. The newly appointed Saudi ambassador to Washington cleared the deal with the Reagan administration, which was unable to sell to Saudi Arabia for fear of pro-Israeli congressional opposition.
The Al-Yamamah deal was to last for 20 years. It generated £43bn for BAE. It also got the Prince £120m a year in kickbacks!
An inquiry by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into the transactions behind the £43bn Al-Yamamah arms deal is understood to have uncovered details of the payments to Prince Bandar. But the investigation was halted last December by the SFO after a review by the attorney general, Lord Goldsmith.
According to those familiar with the discussions at the time, Lord Goldsmith had warned colleagues that British “government complicity” was in danger of being revealed unless the SFO’s corruption inquiries were stopped.
British governments – Labour or Tory – it made no difference.
The money? It was funneled through Riggs Bank, the largest in Washington, DC. Notorious for money-laundering for dictators from around the world. Never investigated until the 9/11 Commission.
Folks involved with international commerce have known about the bribes for years. The blowup is because Blair is so crass he stopped his government from investigating the payoffs.
Of course, this side of the pond, nothing has even proceeded as far as the UK. The Saudi slimeballs had the US and UK branches of BAE pickup the tab for everything from houses for their hookers to a gold-plated Rolls Royce.
These cruds set the standards for thugs like Delay and Abramoff.
Moss, don’t sell Congress and the White House short. They may fall behind on the corruption scale – once in a while – but, don’t worry, we’re the best and biggest at everything!
The world will be a better place when these guys oil runs out. It’s going to happen sooner than you think.
I guess Kurt Vonnegut was right. There is a money river and if you know where it’s located, all you have to do is go there, dip in your bucket and haul the money out.
This guy definitely knows the location of the money river.
Maybe our goal with increased oil use is to drain them dry.
We might succeed. We’re a pretty damn good
bloodoil-sucker.Just goes to show that it pays to pick your parents wisely!!
That is only a 5.6% commission for 20 years of performance. Ask any salesman, he could have asked for at least 8% and a retainer.
#5 – That kind of logic is in amp supply these days.
#8….maybe he wroks for Wal-Mart!! 🙂