An previous investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into reports BAE paid about 1 billion pounds over a decade to Prince Bandar bin Sultan in connection with the al-Yamamah arms deal had been halted in December 2006 by former Prime Minister Tony Blair after the probe angered Saudi Arabia.
February 5th, 2010:
BAE reaches $450 million settlement with U.S., Britain
They couldnt be sure of Shell
From The Times
February 5, 2010
In his fascinating new book about his life and long career at BP, Lord Browne reveals he had talks with Jeroen van der Veer in 2004 about a merger with Shell.
The idea was to combine the two companies and to dispose of all BPs refining and marketing operations. Lord Browne says it seemed so obviously right to me and the executive team.
But some BP directors took a different view and the proposal was never discussed by the board.
In retrospect, such a deal would not have addressed the key challenge both companies now face access to reserves. And while Lord Browne says it would have yielded cost savings of $9 billion, results from both companies this week have shown there was huge scope for efficiency savings even without a merger.