Saturday, June 09, 2007

OECD Poised to Resume Inquiry into Why the British Government Abandoned Its Investigations Into the Allegations of Corruption in BAE

THE GUARDIAN: Attorney general urged to clarify role in concealing $1bn payments to prince

The government was last night fighting to contain the fallout over £1bn in payments to a Saudi prince as the attorney general came under renewed pressure to explain how much he knew about the affair.

While in public the government was issuing partial denials about its role in the controversy, in private there were desperate efforts to secure a new BAE £20bn arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

And any hopes that the furore could be halted were dashed last night when the Guardian learned that the world's anti-corruption organisation, the OECD, was poised to resume its own inquiry into why the British government suddenly abandoned its investigations into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal. The Bandar cover-up: who knew what, and when? (more) By David Leigh and Rob Evans

THE GUARDIAN:
BAE files: Shah of Iran

Prince used cash in BAE-linked account for palace: Former Saudi ambassador says $17m withdrawal was for legitimate expense

Mark Alexander