BAE fined £250m for conspiracy

Friday, 5 February 2010 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

Britain's biggest arms manufacturer will pay a $400 million (£250 million) fine after it pled guilty to conspiracy to make false statements to the US government.

BAE Systems, which is also the second largest weapons manufacturer worldwide, is also set to plead guilty to failing to keep accounting records - a victory for the UK's Serious Fraud Office.

Some of the fee will constitute a fine, some of it a charity payment to Tanzania.

The case relates back to 2002, but it will still prove highly embarrassing to the firm.

The US fine relates to the undertakings BAE gave to the US government in 2001-02 over its business methods.

The company is rarely out the headlines, but its greatest moment of controversy came when Tony Blair stepped in to halt a Saudi arms sale bribery investigation involving BAE in 2007.

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb, who has campaigned for corruption charges to be brought against BAE since 2001, said: "It is a damning indictment of the political interference by the British government that the Americans have secured admissions by BAE on Al-Yamamah while we allowed them to get away with it.

"I'm pleased that BAE has admitted its wrongdoing in relation to Tanzania and that the people of Tanzania will get some recompense after this outrageously unethical deal."

Shadow defence secretary Dr Liam Fox said: "It is clear what happened was wrong and the proper procedures must be put in place to ensure it never happens again.

"No-one is above the law and BAE must now do all it can to restore trust in what is a vital British business."

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