Last week, Blue Girl commented on a story about Bandar on the take:
It turns out that the British arms dealer BAE has been kicking back ₤120,000,000 a year to Saudi Prince Bandar. This arrangement started right after Bandar negotiated a deal for 100 war planes to be purchased from the British arms merchant in 1985. In case you are wondering – that comes to ₤2.64 Billion over the last 22 years.Paul Kiel reports that "it appears, the money trail from London to Riyadh leads through Washington D.C.'s most corrupt bank."
In 2005, a U.S. investigation found the Riggs Bank guilty of...
...numerous money laundering schemes involving, among others the Saudi Embassy to Washington (which Bandar helmed), former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and the government of Equitorial Guinea. According to this week's Newsweek, Riggs's documentation of its Saudi accounts may contain clues about what Bandar in fact received from BAE.Highlights from Newsweek:
A single individual in Saudi Arabia received $17.4 million from the Saudi Defense account over four months.
Allegedly this person "coordinate[d] home improvement/construction projects for Prince Bandar in Saudi Arabia" for a "new Saudi palace."
Riggs Bank's compliance officer David Caruso said, "It was impossible to distinguish between government funds and what would normally be considered personal purposes."
A London account "replenished" the Saudi Defense account at Riggs with $30 million every three months.
Riggs terminated business with the Saudis over concerns "about the withdrawals."
Bandar's lawyer explained that the "new Saudi palace" was "Prince Bandar's official residence" in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Finance Ministry audits of the accounts concluded that there were "no irregularities" when Bandar was ambassador.
Prince Bandar or "Bandar Bush," a nickname given to him by the Bush family due to their close ties, "has largely dropped out of sight, according to three U.S. officials who asked not to be identified talking about sensitive diplomatic matters."
Stay tuned.
