Detroit suburb takes on military contractor over alleged $2B paid to Saudi prince

My NPR colleague JJ Sutherland recently filed this story about how a quiet Detroit suburb took on a giant military contractor in a legal battle that involved a massive arms deal, British fighter jets, a Saudi prince and billions of dollars in payments to a longtime ambassador to the United States.

Harper Woods, Mich., has filed a lawsuit against a massive defense contractor, BAE Systems, over allegations that the company funneled payments to a member of the Saudi royal family.

In the process, this small city has become a central player in an investigation that spans continents, involves accusations of corruption on an unimaginable scale, and has players ranging from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to a substitute teacher.

Pictured above, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the man Harper Woods, Mich., alleges BAE Systems paid $2 billion over a period of about 20 years to win a fighter-jet contract.

Link to text overview and audio, and documents related to a corporate ethics investigation of BAE.

• [J.D.]

  Nitpick: Harper Woods is a Detroit suburb, or a Michigan city, but not a “Detroit city”.

• [SamSam]

  Wow, I was almost going to work for BAE. Well… not really, but they asked me to apply…

  Odds that trying a case involving companies with untold billions and high-level politicians will actually succeed in finding any high-level perps guilty? I’d say 10,000 to 1.

• [Ernst Gruengast]

  Fantastic that this city is prepared to take these guys on where the UK governmant isn’t (for obvious reasons – 3 governments, including Blair’s are complicit in the whole deal and helped facilitate funnelling the money).

  I really hope it comes to something, but I suspect as ling ass Dubya’s there, strings will be pulled so that it won’t.

  When Blair and Bush were together at the last G8, Blair was asked by a journalist about his shutting doen the investigation. Both Bush and Blair looked totally embarassed, exchanged glances, sniggered like schoolboys, then Bush said “I’m real glad I don’t have to answer that question”. Their squirming really was a sight to behold. Afraid I can’t find it on YouTube, but there’s always this:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTzs9G-VOZ4
  priceless!

  Yours respectfully,

  Ernst

• [arkizzle]

  Ernst,
  that vid you linked-to was fantastic! Really well done :)
  Thanks..

• [Xeni Jardin]

  @JD, d’oh, thanks! That’s what I get for blogging tired on the road. Fixed.

• [Jeff]

  “corruption on an unimaginable scale.” I dunno, I can imagine a lot. And that isn’t even taking into consideration the corruption that the city’s mayor is guilty of.

• [Troutbiscuits]

  Interesting that they are suing British Aerospace Systems rather than one of the home grown corruption mongers like Lockheed Martin or Halliburton. Not that I think what BAE or the Saudis did should go unpunished, I just think it is a bit rich to push for sanctions against them when it will inevitably benefit American arms traders.

• [Hal Eckhart]

  Don’t forget that this guy is such a close friend of the Bush family that Dubya named him Bandar Bush.