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US investigation into BAE Saudi arms deal watered down, leaked memo suggests
Source: The Guardian
US investigation into BAE Saudi arms deal watered down, leaked memo suggests
Document seen by the Guardian suggests US law firm influenced investigation into £43bn deal between UK and Saudi Arabia
Clayton Swisher, Ewen MacAskill and Rob Evans
Tue 6 Mar 2018 12.57 GMT
The outcome of a US criminal investigation into alleged bribery in a £43bn arms deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia was watered down following a secret lobbying campaign, according to a leaked document.
The confidential memo seen by the Guardian provides a rare insight into behind-the-scenes negotiations between an American law firm hired by a Saudi prince and the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The discussions took place in the runup to the DoJ’s completion in 2010 of an investigation into the deal between Saudi Arabia and Britain’s biggest arms firm, BAE.
The Washington-based law firm boasted in the memo that it had wrung a string of concessions from investigators that led to the removal of potentially embarrassing details from an official document announcing their conclusions.
-snip-
Document seen by the Guardian suggests US law firm influenced investigation into £43bn deal between UK and Saudi Arabia
Clayton Swisher, Ewen MacAskill and Rob Evans
Tue 6 Mar 2018 12.57 GMT
The outcome of a US criminal investigation into alleged bribery in a £43bn arms deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia was watered down following a secret lobbying campaign, according to a leaked document.
The confidential memo seen by the Guardian provides a rare insight into behind-the-scenes negotiations between an American law firm hired by a Saudi prince and the US Department of Justice (DoJ).
The discussions took place in the runup to the DoJ’s completion in 2010 of an investigation into the deal between Saudi Arabia and Britain’s biggest arms firm, BAE.
The Washington-based law firm boasted in the memo that it had wrung a string of concessions from investigators that led to the removal of potentially embarrassing details from an official document announcing their conclusions.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/06/us-investigation-into-bae-saudi-arms-deal-watered-down-leaked-memo-suggests