UK opens probe into EADS unit Saudi defence deal

PARIS, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Serious Fraud Office has
formally launched a criminal probe into allegations that
European defence group EADS bribed Saudi Arabian
officials to win a communications contract.
The allegations involve a $3.3 billion contract awarded to
the EADS unit, GPT Special Project Management, to provide
communications and intranet services for the Saudi National
Guard, which protects the Kingdom's royal family.
Serious Fraud Office spokesman David Jones on Thursday
confirmed a single-sentence statement on the UK prosecutors'
website that the investigation was underway but declined to
elaborate.
"The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has decided to
open a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT
and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia," a statement on the website said.
An EADS spokesman in the UK did not immediately return a
phone call seeking comment about the probe being launched.
The investigation's existence was first reported in May
2011, but the U.K's Telegraph newspaper reported in October that
it had been halted while the British government considered the
political implications.
The allegations surfaced in employment tribunal proceedings
and were made by a former GPT employee who claimed Saudi
officials were given luxury cars, jewellery and large sums of
cash from London accounts through intermediaries, a source
previously told Reuters.
The SFO in 2006 halted an investigation into alleged bribes
paid by BAE Systems in connection with a huge arms deal
with Saudi Arabia amid fears that it would threaten UK national
security.