Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

UK used ‘deniable fiddle’ to hide £60m of payments to Saudis, court told

UK used ‘deniable fiddle’ to hide £60m of payments to Saudis, court told

Payments to a future Saudi king and other officials allegedly approved as part of huge arms deal
The British government approved payments of up to £60m to a future king of Saudi Arabia, his son and other high-ranking officials as part of a huge arms deal and then sought to conceal them in what it described as a “deniable fiddle”, a trial has heard.

Opening the defence of one of two men accused of corruption in the arms deal, Ian Winter QC told Southwark crown court that some of the payments were made to the then Prince Abdullah, who later became the Saudi monarch for a decade.

Winter also told the court that internal documents recorded that the British government and Abdullah organised “a deniable fiddle” to hide the payments.

The QC also alleged that the British government ensured payments continued to be paid to high-ranking Saudis until 2020 – eight years after the Serious Fraud Office began an investigation into the same payments.

Winter is representing Jeffrey Cook, 65, who, along with John Mason, 79, is being prosecuted by the SFO for authorising corrupt payments amounting to £7.9m to senior Saudis between 2007 and 2012.

The payments were made, according to the SFO, to ensure that a British firm, GPT, received lucrative contracts from the Saudi military.

Cook, a former Ministry of Defence civil servant, was GPT’s managing director. Mason worked for an offshore firm, Simec, that is accused of funnelling the bribes to the Saudis.

The contracts awarded to GPT were part of a large arms deal managed as a formal agreement between the UK and Saudi governments that had started in the 1970s.

Winter told the court the British government decided in 1978 that large payments had to be paid personally to Abdullah, then a prince, to ensure that the British won the original arms deal. This was a “fundamental necessity without which the contract would not have been awarded to the British”, he added.

He said the British government “decided that it was in the public interest, bearing in mind the value of the … contract, to enter into a binding contractual agreement with Prince Abdullah” to be given the payments.

He alleged that Abdullah and the MoD organised the original deal on the basis of what the MoD “called at the time, ‘the deniable fiddle’. They actually recorded that phrase in reports and file notes at the time.”

Winter said “both Prince Abdullah and the British government wanted a deniable fiddle that would enable the payments to be made, but which would permit them to deny their involvement through the use of a private contractor”. In recent years, the role of private contractor had been performed by GPT.

He said “very senior” officials in the British government approved every penny of the payments that were made as part of the arms deal in what at one stage was called “top cover”. This included the money paid to Abdullah, and more recently his son Prince Miteb, and other high-ranking officials. Abdullah died in 2015 after 10 years on the Saudi throne.

He alleged that the UK government facilitated the payments amounting to £60m to be made from the late 1970s to 2020, when GPT’s contracts ended.

The SFO began its investigation into GPT in 2012 after complaints from whistleblowers.

Winter told Mr Justice Bryan that “even after the prosecution’s balloon had gone up … the MoD set about working on creating a new system that did not involve GPT having to make the” payments to senior Saudis. He alleged that the payments were moved through an offshore route by the MoD.

He added that legally, the payments did not amount to corruption if the Saudi and British governments had authorised them.

The trial continues.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
×