Tiefer Verstand
15-09-05, 12:38 PM
BAE Systems facing Pinochet claim
Britain's leading arms manufacturer BAE Systems has been accused of paying more than £1 million to former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
Three companies linked to the 89-year-old - who seized power in a 1970 military coup - are reported to be named on legal documents which show they received payments from the defence firm.
An investigation by The Guardian claims that payments were made as late as last June and that between December 1997 and last year BAE paid his firms just over 2 million dollars (around £1.1 million).
The payments were made to Tasker Investments, Cornwall Overseas Corporation and Eastview Finance, firms named in a US Senate report in March as front companies for Pinochet.
A BAE Systems spokesman said: "All BAE Systems' employees are required to act with honesty, integrity and fairness. We will not tolerate bribery or other attempts to improperly influence the decisions of customers or suppliers."
The firm said it has "clear and rigorous policies" about such matters and said it was committed to upholding the "highest ethical standards".
"We comply with the law in all countries where we operate, including laws implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," said the spokesman.
As head of Chile's armed forces Pinochet sanctioned the multi-million pound delivery of a Rayo rocket system from BAE in the 1990s and brokered deals involving projects for the Chilean navy.
In 1998, Pinochet sought medical treatment in Britain and became the subject of a Spanish extradition request in connection with allegations of torture. He was placed under house arrest in the UK as the case became mired in a legal row and was finally allowed to return to Chile after it was ruled he was too ill to stand trial.
Pinochet was later stripped of his immunity from prosecution and is awaiting trial in Chile accused of the kidnap and murder of opposition supporters.
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2005, All Rights Reserved.
Britain's leading arms manufacturer BAE Systems has been accused of paying more than £1 million to former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
Three companies linked to the 89-year-old - who seized power in a 1970 military coup - are reported to be named on legal documents which show they received payments from the defence firm.
An investigation by The Guardian claims that payments were made as late as last June and that between December 1997 and last year BAE paid his firms just over 2 million dollars (around £1.1 million).
The payments were made to Tasker Investments, Cornwall Overseas Corporation and Eastview Finance, firms named in a US Senate report in March as front companies for Pinochet.
A BAE Systems spokesman said: "All BAE Systems' employees are required to act with honesty, integrity and fairness. We will not tolerate bribery or other attempts to improperly influence the decisions of customers or suppliers."
The firm said it has "clear and rigorous policies" about such matters and said it was committed to upholding the "highest ethical standards".
"We comply with the law in all countries where we operate, including laws implementing the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act," said the spokesman.
As head of Chile's armed forces Pinochet sanctioned the multi-million pound delivery of a Rayo rocket system from BAE in the 1990s and brokered deals involving projects for the Chilean navy.
In 1998, Pinochet sought medical treatment in Britain and became the subject of a Spanish extradition request in connection with allegations of torture. He was placed under house arrest in the UK as the case became mired in a legal row and was finally allowed to return to Chile after it was ruled he was too ill to stand trial.
Pinochet was later stripped of his immunity from prosecution and is awaiting trial in Chile accused of the kidnap and murder of opposition supporters.
© Copyright Press Association Ltd 2005, All Rights Reserved.