John Donovan, Co-founder Royal Dutch Shell Plc.com
Email sent by John Donovan to Garda Slochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) 25 March 2015
SHELL CORRUPTION OF IRISH POLICE AS ADMITTED BY ITS AGENT/CONTRACTOR: OSSL
Dear Sirs
I attach for your information a copy of a letter dated 12 March 2015 from Ms Frances Fitzgerald, T.D., Irish Minister for Justice and Equality, addressed to Mr Bernard J Durkan TD.
This is similar in content to replies sent recently to other T.D’s – all of whom kindly took this matter up with the Minister on my behalf, who has now invited me to supply the GSOC with evidence.
I want to keep this simple, so I will restrict my comments to one item of evidence which has already been supplied, but not acted upon, plus important items of evidence that have emerged since the
GSOC Report published in July 2014.
The item of evidence already supplied is an OSSL VAT invoice to Shell EP Ireland detailing the procurement and delivery of free alcohol given to the Garda at the express instruction of Shell.
If in fact no alcohol was purchased and delivered, then the raising of a false VAT invoice sent to Shell demanding payment must surely constitute a crime?
Please note that Shell has admitted receiving the invoice and has not denounced it as being false.
Have Irish VAT officers investigated the authenticity of the OSSL invoice for alcohol apparently purchased in Northern Ireland and transported (smuggled?) across the border?
If not, why not?
If the invoice is fictitious and the related OSSL allegations false, OSSL directors would by now have been arrested and charged for forging a VAT invoice and using it in an attempt to blackmail its former client, Shell EP Ireland.
THE NEW EVIDENCE NOT YET CONSIDERED BY THE GSOC
I did bring this new information to the attention of the Garda in my email to Supt. Patrick Diskin dated 16 November 2014. I received a response from him two days later in which he advised that he had forwarded the correspondence to Superintendent Joseph McKenna. I heard nothing further from the Garda despite the importance of the information I supplied.
I can only assume that the blackmail allegations were unfounded, otherwise why have they not been taken up by Shell or the police? OSSL have always insisted on their innocence on that score, but have admitted to distributing bribes to the Garda and other parties on behalf of Shell in respect of the Corrib Gas Project.
THE EVIDENCE
A 42 minute covertly recorded consultation between senior lawyer Mr Marc Fitzgibbon, representing Dublin Solicitors Lavelle, and their then clients, Mr Desmond Kane and Mr Neil Rooney representing OSSL
(Some of the more interesting parts are highlighted in red text.)
A
letter marked “Private & Confidential” dated 21 October 2014sent to Desmond Kane of OSSL by Marc Fitzgibbon. The letter details telephone calls Lavelle received from Shell requesting a conference call with Mr Fitzgibbon, to include several Shell staff, including specifically Michael Crothers, the CEO of Irish Shell. This was immediately after I threatened to publish the covertly recorded discussion.
The telephone calls suggest that the existence of the covertly recorded consultation with Marc Fitzgibbon, in which the subject of alcohol given to the Irish police was raised over 60 times, triggered a panicked response from Shell.
All of this fuss over alcohol that the Irish authorities claim never existed.
Yours sincerely
John Donovan
THE LETTER FROM IRISH JUSTICE MINISTER FRANCES FITZGERALD DATED 12 MARCH 2015
UPDATE THURSDAY 26 MARCH 2015
EXTRACT FROM POSTING ON SHELL BLOG IN RESPONSE TO ABOVE ARTICLE
Dear Mr Donovan,
It would appear you are not aware that the Minister and the Police Commissioner together with past and present CEOs of Shell Ireland are stifling the passing of the key information that proves beyond a doubt that the alcohol was sent by Shell and received by named police officers.
EXTRACT ENDS
An acknowledgement email dated 26 March 2015 has been received from the Private Secretary of the Irish Minister for Justice and Equality.
I wish to acknowledge receipt of your email.
__________________
Christopher Quattrociocchi
Private Secretary
We now have a speedy response from the Irish Police Ombudsman Commission
Garda SÃochána Ombudsman Commission
From: Ciaran Kelly
To: “johndonovan”
Subject: GSOC REF: 780242-03-15
Date: 26 March 2015 11:13:12 GMT
GSOC REF: 780242-03-15
(Please quote this reference no. when contacting the GSOC)
26 March 2015
Dear Mr Donovan
I am directed by the Garda SÃochána Ombudsman Commission (“GSOC”) to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence dated 26 March 2015.
The content of your correspondence will be considered and an admissibility determination made if the information you have provided fits the criteria for a complaint. If however additional information is required we will write to you once asking specific questions. We will give you some time to answer the questions but there will be a deadline after which GSOC will review the file and may decide to close it at that point.
We will be in contact with you again in the near future. In the meantime I am enclosing an Information Leaflet which tells you about the first steps in the complaints process.
Should you wish to receive correspondence by post please respond to this email with your postal address details.
Please do not hesitate to contact the office if you have any queries in relation to the matter.
Yours sincerely
________________
Ciaran Kelly
Case Officer | Garda Ombudsman | 150 Upper Abbey Street | Dublin 1
01-8716637
Garda Ombudsman
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