FRAUDULENT PRACTICES AT SHELL CONDONED BY SENIOR MANAGEMENT
In 1999, we informed EVERY director of Shell Transport and Trading Company plc, Royal Dutch Petroleum, and Shell UK Limited, (that includes Lord Oxburgh, Jeroem van der Veer, etc) that we had found in Shell discovery documents, incontrovertible evidence of corrupt practices in respect of a tendering process for a major contract. Companies in the SMART tendering process were deliberately cheated and deceived by Shell managers, Mr Andrew Lazenby, Mr David Watson and Tim Hannagan. The companies included large and small businesses including for example a retained promotions agency, Senior King, The contract was awarded in shady circumstances to a company which never even took part in the tendering process (which involved 35 companies). We also found an email concerning illegal activity knowingly sanctioned by one of the same managers. Shell senior management subsequently gave that manager their full support. Again I have all of the relevant documents which proves how the plan to cheat and deceive tendering companies was carried out in a ruthless manner as part of a deliberate conspiracy.
An example of one such letter circulated to Shell directors can be viewed below:-
The following Witness Statements obtained by London solicitors Royds RDW, provide sworn testimony on the deliberate cheating of companies who had the misfortune to approach Mr Lazenby, the same disreputable Shell manager at the centre of our four High Court Actions against Shell, including the SMART claim. Both were obtained on the basis of "similar fact" evidence.
SWORN WITNESS STATEMENT OF MR Mike McMahon dated 19 April 1999
SWORN WITNESS STATEMENT OF MR JOHN ARMSTRONG-HOLMES dated 9 April 1999
*THE APPROACH LETTER TO Mr Mike McMahon dated 19 March 1999 DETAILING THE DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE FOUND IN SHELL'S MOUNTAIN OF "DISCOVERY" DOCUMENTS
*Includes examples of two items listed in the letter: (1) a handwritten note dated 23 October 1992 by Shell Manager Andrew Lazenby circulated to his management colleagues notifying them of his intention to deceive companies in the tendering process for the multimillion pounds SMART scheme by keeping them holding as long as possible when he had already decided to reject them (2) a standard letter dated 27 October 1992 subsequently sent by him to Mr McMahon (and other "rejects") pretending they were ALL still in contention. He requested considerably more information on the false premise that they were still in the running for a multi-million pounds contract. This caused considerable time and expense to be incurred by all the "reject" companies involved. And they supplied Shell with commercially valuable information. It was an outright premeditated con trick on the part of Shell management.
On the same date, 27 October 1992, Mr Lazenby sent letters (below) to the two companies he had short listed - the sole runners left in the race as Mr McMahon put it, Geoff Howe & Associates and Senior King Limited. As readers can see, he also requested further information from them before ultimately awarding the contract to "Option One", a company which was NOT IN THE TENDERING PROCESS or as Mr McMahon put it, a horse which was not even running in the race. Option One was the same company to whom he funnelled all of our confidential proposals - he had a close personal relationship Option One directors outside of business activities. Mr Lazenby held an offshore bank account in Jersey. Also below is a note dated 28 October 1992 circulated by Andrew Lazenby to his managerial colleagues, including his line manager, David Watson. It is the "Listing of reasons for rejection" as per his handwritten note of 23 October 1992. It is further proof of his double dealing with Lazenby rubbishing the four companies who he had decided to reject, but written to the previous day pretending otherwise to "keep rejects holding as long as poss" as per the same handwritten note.
If we fast forward to 1999,both of the above witness statements were supplied to numerous senior Shell directors including Shell UK Chairman Mr Malcolm Brinded, Royal Dutch Shell Group Managing Director, Steve Miller and Shell Group Chairman, Mark Moody-Stuart. These three letters can be accessed below. Neither Moody-Stuart or Steve Miller took up the invitation to disavow their collective support for the thoroughly dishonest Andrew Lazenby. Instead of sacking him they endorsed his disreputable behaviour which was totally at odds with Shell's Statement of General Business Principles (pledging openness, honesty and integrity in all of Shell's dealings).
An email circulated to senior Shell managers on 4 November 1993 in relation to "Project Hercules" - the project code name for the Shell SMART scheme, is very revealing about the mindset of Mr Lazenby and the willingness of Shell management to ignore disreputable behaviour. The following is an extract: "My note of 25/10 is the official position, my note of 9/9 expressed a personal and pragmatic view of how to handle the problem - it is in fact illegal and is certainly unofficial, and if we were discovered then we will enforce the official position..."