16 DECEMBER 2013www.ft.com
Bahrain opposition calls for inquiry into aluminium producer
Edited by : AL CIRCLE
2 min read
Bahrain’s opposition has called for an independent investigation into state-run Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) after a corruption trial collapsed in London last week.
Al-Wefaq, which has been at the forefront of protests in Bahrain, says losses to the public purse should be investigated by the government.
“The Bahraini people lost money,” said Abdul Jalil Khalil, a Wefaq spokesman. “We need an independent investigation here in Bahrain to look into this as we are talking about more than $3bn – this is not an easy figure.”
Billionaire Victor Dahdaleh did not dispute that he paid £38m to Sheikh Isa bin Ali al-Khalifa, Alba’s former chairman and a close adviser of the prime minister, to win $3bn of contracts for companies including Alcoa of the US. Mr Dahdaleh’s lawyers argued in court, however, that the payments were not corrupt because they were known about and approved by Alba’s government-controlled board.
A letter from the Bahraini government to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and attorney-general, confirming that Alba’s board was aware of the payments, may have helped end the trial in London but has redoubled anger among the opposition about official collusion with dubious practices.
The UK’s SFO accused Mr Dahdaleh of “grand scale” corruption and said he was a “power broker” who amassed great wealth by “creaming off 10 per cent” of the contracts he helped negotiate for companies such as Alcoa. He was charged with eight counts of corruption and money-laundering between 1998 and 2006, under an old 1906 law. This law has since been replaced with the 2011 UK Bribery Act.
Sheikh Isa was a named co-conspirator in the SFO’s indictment but the court heard the SFO had no way to compel him to take part in the trial as no extradition treaty existed between the UK and Bahrain.
Bruce Hall, Alba’s former chief executive, has pleaded guilty to corruption and will be sentenced shortly. During his cross-examination, he agreed with the description of tensions in Bahrain, where “the royal family is all-powerful” and where “nothing of significance happened in Bahrain without the approval of the prime minister.”
Al-Wefaq, which has been at the forefront of protests in Bahrain, says losses to the public purse should be investigated by the government.
“The Bahraini people lost money,” said Abdul Jalil Khalil, a Wefaq spokesman. “We need an independent investigation here in Bahrain to look into this as we are talking about more than $3bn – this is not an easy figure.”
Billionaire Victor Dahdaleh did not dispute that he paid £38m to Sheikh Isa bin Ali al-Khalifa, Alba’s former chairman and a close adviser of the prime minister, to win $3bn of contracts for companies including Alcoa of the US. Mr Dahdaleh’s lawyers argued in court, however, that the payments were not corrupt because they were known about and approved by Alba’s government-controlled board.
A letter from the Bahraini government to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office and attorney-general, confirming that Alba’s board was aware of the payments, may have helped end the trial in London but has redoubled anger among the opposition about official collusion with dubious practices.
The UK’s SFO accused Mr Dahdaleh of “grand scale” corruption and said he was a “power broker” who amassed great wealth by “creaming off 10 per cent” of the contracts he helped negotiate for companies such as Alcoa. He was charged with eight counts of corruption and money-laundering between 1998 and 2006, under an old 1906 law. This law has since been replaced with the 2011 UK Bribery Act.
Sheikh Isa was a named co-conspirator in the SFO’s indictment but the court heard the SFO had no way to compel him to take part in the trial as no extradition treaty existed between the UK and Bahrain.
Bruce Hall, Alba’s former chief executive, has pleaded guilty to corruption and will be sentenced shortly. During his cross-examination, he agreed with the description of tensions in Bahrain, where “the royal family is all-powerful” and where “nothing of significance happened in Bahrain without the approval of the prime minister.”
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