Saab decided to launch an investigation after details emerged in the media about a contract with a South African consultant about which Saab had no prior knowledge.

Saab has now completed a review of the contract and the financial transactions of the company Sanip Pty Ltd during the period in question.

Our review revealed that approximately 24 million rand was paid from BAE Systems to Sanip. These payments were transferred to the South African consultant shortly thereafter.

"These transactions have never entered into the accounts," says Saab's President and CEO Hakan Buskhe, adding,

"A person emplyed by BAE Systems has without Saab's knowledge signed a for us unknown contract, signed for us up until now unknown transactions as well as signing the audited and apparently inaccurate financial statement for 2003.

The investigation and assembled materials have been submitted to the attorney Tomas Nilsson, who has been asked to comment whether, in his view, the investigation material supports Saab's conclusions. All investigation material has been handed over to Chief Prosecutor Gunnar Stetler at the National Anti-Corruption Unit on Saab's behalf. Saab will be at the complete disposal of the Chief Prosecutor in this case, should such a need arise.

"Saab has a zero-tolerance policy towards irregularities. Our internal investigation and openness in this matter demonstrates how seriously we regard this," says Hakan Buskhe.

Source : Saab AB (OMX Stockholm: SAAB B)

So much for the defence consultant's theory that this was above board.

Anyone who thinks that Saab would conduct an internal investigation and then hand over the evidence and its own conclusions to the Attorney-General and Chief Prosecutor has gonads for brains.

This can lead to some bad things for some among us, not least of all that new zero-toleranced one among us, BAE Systems.

But BAE happily pays R4 billion in fines to get R400 billion in business (the Saudi Al Yamanah II deal was worth R650 billion on its own).

So the R24 million it splodged on Saab's behalf to Fana will bring a mere smile to the Remuneration Committee's lips.
 

What is the Al-Yamanah deal worth?

It is the UK’s biggest-ever foreign defence order, worth a total of £43bn in revenue to British Aerospace (now BAE) from 1988 to 2005 and potentially several times that over the longer term.

http://www.moneyweek.com/news-and-charts/economics/just-how-bad-is-uk-corruption