Published comment By John Donovan in response to the headline story about BP
12 February 2006
Sir- It is no wonder that under US Securities & Exchange Commission rules, Shell’s replacement rate of new oil is only 60%-70% of what it has pumped out.
Directors of Royal Dutch Shell Plc may perhaps be slightly distracted by the fact that 11 out of their 15 board members, including CEO Jeroen van der Veer, are the subject of a US class action in relation to the 2004 reserves fraud. The action has been given permission to proceed by a US District Court Chief Judge (John Bissell). The US Justice Department also has an investigation in progress against individual directors allegedly implicated in the fraud.
The investigation is referred to in paragraph 23.5 of a defence document filed by Shell reserves whistleblower Dr John Huong with the High Court of Malaya on 25 January 2006. This is in relation to a defamation lawsuit brought against him by EIGHT Royal Dutch Shell companies registered in the UK, the Netherlands and in other Countries.
Further up to date information on these matters can be found on royaldutchshellplc.com
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