In 2000, BAE made commitments to the U.S. government that it would create and implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with provisions of the FCPA and relevant provisions of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. According to the DOJ, in May and June 2002 BAE falsely stated to the Department of Defense that it had implemented sufficient mechanisms to ensure compliance with the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA.
Before and after its commitments to the U.S. government, BAE regularly retained “marketing advisors” to assist in securing sales of defense articles. Substantial payments were made to these advisors without the type of scrutiny and review required by the FCPA or represented by BAE to the U.S. government. BAE used offshore shell companies to conceal its relationships and payments to these advisors.
Specifically, BAE made undisclosed and unscrutinized payments of more than £19,000,000 to entities associated with an unnamed individual, and at least some of these payments were to secure leases of fighter aircraft to the Czech Republic and Hungary. Additionally, BAE provided substantial benefits, including the purchase of travel and accommodations, security services, real estate, automobiles, and personal items, to a Saudi public official, who was in a position of influence regarding the fighter aircraft BAE sold to the U.K. government, which then sold the aircraft to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. BAE also agreed to transfer sums totaling more than £10,000,000 and more than $9,000,000 to a bank account in Switzerland controlled by an intermediary while aware there was a high probability that the intermediary would transfer part of these payments to the Saudi public official.
