BBC: MoD implicated in Saudi Prince payments
Last night’s Panorama on BBC One alleged that the Ministry of Defence “directly administered payments of more than £1bn to Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia”, according to The Guardian.
According to the BBC, MoD officials in Whitehall themselves processed quarterly “invoices” from the Saudi prince, who was seeking payment for “support services” for his role in the al-Yamamah arms deal. The invoices were passed on to BAE executives, who would then wire the latest instalment of cash to accounts at Riggs bank in Washington.
The transfers from an account held at the Bank of England went in batches of £30m a quarter for at least a decade.
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Last night as Lib-Dem politicians renewed their questioning, Lord Goldsmith remained silent on whether he had advised that information about the Bandar payments be concealed from the OECD - the world’s anti-corruption organisation.
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Posted in Al Yamamah, BAE, Panorama |
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