Rapid Fire August 15, 2012: Gulf Missile Defense

* It is hard to be more terse than the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in their one-sentence statement last week that they “decided to open a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” GPT Special Project Management is a part of Paradigm, itself a subsidiary of EADS-owned Astrium. Since that statement, the Financial Times has reported that they have seen a copy of a project contract that lists costs without explaining what the “bought-in services” are supposed to be. The FT also explains how retired British lieutenant-colonel and GPT employee Ian Foxley fled Saudi Arabia with “evidence of apparently irregular payments to Saudi officials.” EADS has not offered any comment. The plot thickens given the fact it is the UK Ministry of Defense that is technically GPT’s customer, as part of a liaison program with the Saudi National Guard. This brings back to memory an aborted SFO investigation of Eurofighter contracts. * Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is to India what DARPA is to the USA. They seem to be struggling, with an audit showing a number of irregularities and a sense that it is […]