BAE chief held in corruption probe Mike Turner, chief executive of BAE Systems, was last week detained by US authorities investigating corruption allegations involving arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Mr Turner and another senior BAE executive were detained and issued with additional subpoenas by officials from the US Department of Justice on their way through Houston airport last Monday. The pair were kept for about half an hour and had documents, as well as personal electronic equipment, examined. The DoJ acted as part of its investigation into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal under which Saudi Arabia bought aircraft and other defence equipment from Britain. The DoJ said last June that it was launching a probe to see if BAE's business deals "concerning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" complied with anti-corruption laws. There have been persistent allegations that bribery was involved in the contract, with stories of slush funds used to entertain Saudi officials and royalty. BAE has always denied any wrongdoing.
Mike Turner, chief executive of BAE Systems, was last week detained by US authorities investigating corruption allegations involving arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
Mr Turner and another senior BAE executive were detained and issued with additional subpoenas by officials from the US Department of Justice on their way through Houston airport last Monday. The pair were kept for about half an hour and had documents, as well as personal electronic equipment, examined.
The DoJ acted as part of its investigation into the £43bn al-Yamamah arms deal under which Saudi Arabia bought aircraft and other defence equipment from Britain. The DoJ said last June that it was launching a probe to see if BAE's business deals "concerning the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" complied with anti-corruption laws. There have been persistent allegations that bribery was involved in the contract, with stories of slush funds used to entertain Saudi officials and royalty. BAE has always denied any wrongdoing.
(Note: title helpfully provide for pundits that would otherwise be hard-pressed to find the proper spin on that bit of news) In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
But I can't help noticing that the US thinks it has jurisdiction over a sale of British arms to Saudi Arabia.
Maybe it's the sort of thing that should be left to the...cough...ICC?
