LEAFLET BEING DISTRIBUTED AT SHELL CENTRE, LONDON, WEEK COMMENCING 26 OCTOBER 2009.
SEX, DRUGS & CORRUPTION
SPONSORED BY SHELL
Shell senior management pretends that it stands resolutely behind the anti-corruption pledges in the Shell General Business Principles.
I have already revealed that the hypocrites at the top of Shell, including executive director Malcolm "TFA" Brinded and the rule bending Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Richard Wiseman, encourage and support corrupt practices. Wiseman's behind the scenes support is directly at odds with an anti-corruption speech he delivered in June 2008 at the Asia Anti-Corruption Conference.
The stink of corruption associated with Shell is pervasive and impossible to contain. In the hard commercial world, Shell senior management is prepared to do whatever it takes to meet its objectives, whether it is turning a blind eye to corrupt practices in the UK, bribery and corruption in Russia (the Sakhalin2 project) or in Nigeria, where Shell has also paid militants carrying out attacks on Shell employees and property. It is unclear whether the murky payments, reported in the FT, were to stop or promote the attacks, which have driven up the price of oil.
We mentioned in a recent leaflet the criminal investigation currently in progress in Scotland involving Shell, Malcolm Brinded, the HSE and alleged corruption.
We now have the criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department into former U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton and the award of potentially highly lucrative oil shale leases to Shell Oil, which subsequently became her employer.
One moment Norton was the head of a U.S. government department negotiating multibillion-dollar agreements with Shell, the next (just months later) she was working for Shell Oil as General Counsel in the division dealing with oil shale. This was blatantly improper, undoubtedly against the public interest and probably illegal. It smells to high heaven.
In this connection, we are aware of speculation that we have supplied Shell internal documents and correspondence to the U.S. investigators. The speculation is understandable bearing in mind our international reputation as a purveyor of Shell confidential internal information. One example was our key role in the Sakhalin2 project resulting in Shell's loss of its ownership stake and the forced resignation, in embarrassing circumstances, of the project director, General David Greer.
I have been writing about Gale Norton for over a year. Not just out of concern over her joining Shell in highly dubious circumstances, but also because of a corruption scandal involving her staff. This scandal had it all; bribes, drugs, sex and oil. Shell was a prime sponsor of the immoral and illegal activities, which also breached Shell's claimed ethical code.
Further proof that Shell General Business Principles are a complete fraud.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the U.S. Department of The Interior and the Office of Inspector General initiated an investigation in 2006 after receiving allegations from a confidential source that improprieties were occurring within the Royalty in Kind Program (RIK). The following extracts in italics, not necessarily in original order, are taken directly from the official report.
In e-mails we retrieved from computer hard drives and network servers, we found numerous indications that many of the events that RIK employees attended with industry officials were purely social. For instance, e-mail from Shell Pipeline Company representative to RIK employee Crystel Edler, regarding attending "tailgating festivities" at a Houston Texans game, stated, "You're invited have you and the girls meet at my place at 6am for bubble baths and final prep. Just kidding…"
The Shell Pipeline Company representative's previous e-mail inviting people to the event was laden with sexual innuendo such as, "We've always provided the patrons with beer on demand, but the ever-depleting supplies have dwindled beer storage to dangerously low volumes on occasion…. Although it's a given that the horsemen will indeed 'bring the meat to the table.'
In 2004, Shell provided Leyshon with lodging and paid for her ski costs in Keystone, CO. She also admitted to having a "one-night stand" with a Shell employee. She stated that this employee did not prepare Shell's RIK bids. Leyshon told investigators that she "had a hit every once in a while in reference to her use of marijuana but noted that this never occurred at the MMS office.
When interviewed, Michael Faulise, Director of Marketing for Shell Exploration and Production Company (Shell E&P), stated that he had worked for Shell since 2000… When asked, Faulise stated that he was unable to recall Leyshon ever paying for any lodging or meals provided by Shell.
We interviewed a senior crude oil trader for Shell Oil Trading Company regarding his relationship with Stacy Leyshon pursuant to a DOJ proffer agreement. The senior trader said he had heard Leyshon and Edler referred to by other Shell employees as the "MMS Chicks" who often drank too much and conducted themselves in an unprofessional manner.
In addition, our investigation disclosed that in 2004, Greg Smith became concerned that an RIK employee might have released confidential pipeline transportation rates to Shell. Apparently, a company official from Poseidon Oil had called Smith to complain that Shell had learned of the confidential transportation rate that Poseidon had negotiated with RIK. We also discovered emails sent among RIK Staff where Edler admitted to talking to "Mike" (Faulise) about the Poseidon deal. On May 6, 2004, Smith sent an e-mail to several RIK marketers including Edler that stated, "I have heard the details of our agreement with Poseidon … including the actual rate we agreed to … was communicated to Shell. If true, this ran counter to our promise to Poseidon to keep this information confidential."
Edler admitted that she had used cocaine "in the past," most recently in 2005. However, she claimed that she never used cocaine during business hours and that she never used cocaine with any MMS employees or industry representatives.
We interviewed Mike Faulise, Barbara Layer, and Alan Raymond of Shell, who all confirmed that Edler was an RIK employee they dealt with on both a professional and social basis. Both Faulise and Layer remembered her attending the annual Shell outings. During Faulise's interview, we showed him a February 2004 e-mail he wrote to Edler stating, "Nobody will say anything about you being here for the night. As far as I'm concerned, you were in a hotel." Edler responded, "Mikey:..you are sooo wonderful You know how much I totally adore you."
Shell managers used immoral tactics directed against employees of a U.S. government department to seek commercial advantage. This included obtaining confidential, commercially valuable information belonging to a third party. Déjà Vue All Over Again.
LEAFLET ENDS
HOUSTON — Shell Oil Co. received top marks from the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) for its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees and consumers.
