Prince Bandar, the former Saudi ambassador to the US, has been one of the key figures in the BAE-Saudi bribery scandal. Now the heat is on him with a court order freezing some of his US assets, as part of a class-action lawsuit over the bribery allegations.
Interesting developments in the two big corporate bribery cases, Siemens and BAE Systems. The heat is on both companies and despite their best efforts, it's not going away.
Two anti-arms trade groups have won a court battle over last year's decision by the Serious Fraud Office to end its investigations into BAE's Saudi contracts
Two watchdog organizations are trying to get the Appropriations Committee to wipe $59 million worth of earmark requests in the 2008 defense spending bill for BAE and ProLogic. Both companies are under federal investigation. But don’t expect any action because both have given campaign contributions.
Who cares about corruption allegations? British defence and aerospace company BAE Systems has reported a higher than expected 19 per cent rise in first half profits, driven largely by its expansion into the US. A little matter of endless war in Iraq and conflict in Afghanistan have also boosted its profits.
Washington sources familiar with the thinking of senior officials at the justice department said yesterday it was "99% certain" that a criminal inquiry would be opened under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Such an investigation would have potentially seismic consequences for BAE, which is trying to take over US arms companies and make the Pentagon its biggest customer.
Leon Gettler is a blogger and senior business journalist at The Age, specializing on management issues. His latest book, Organisations Behaving Badly focuses on the forces that lead smart executives into making dumb decisions.
