London Evening Standard: Shell pressed to take new faces aboard: “F&C corporate governance chief Karina Litvack and director Richard Singleton… are encouraging companies 'to write into contracts a degree of personal liability for fraudulent or negligent behaviour'.: “ Investors were later shocked to read an email from former exploration boss Walter van de Vijver to former group chairman Sir Philip Watts in which he said: 'I am becoming sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues.' (ShellNews.net) Posted 11 May 05

James Rossiter, Evening Standard

F&C ASSET Management, one of Britain's most powerful institutional investors, wants fresh blood brought on to the board of oil major Shell.

The call from F&C, which manages £125bn of funds, coincides with its new campaign for public companies to claw back bonuses paid to staff based on error-strewn accounts.

F&C corporate governance chief Karina Litvack and director Richard Singleton, who have dubbed their campaign Take the Money and Run, are encouraging companies 'to write into contracts a degree of personal liability for fraudulent or negligent behaviour'.

It will strike a chord with F&C, whose 1.36% stake in Shell, now worth £660m, was hit last year after the board had to reduce its oil reserves figures while top directors left with bumper pay-offs following years of lucrative pay packages.

Investors were later shocked to read an email from former exploration boss Walter van de Vijver to former group chairman Sir Philip Watts in which he said: 'I am becoming sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues.'

Shell enraged investors last June when it paid Watts £1.06m to leave his job. The Evening Standard revealed at the time that two large US pension funds had launched a class action against 27 Shell directors including Watts, demanding senior managers should pay back their earnings.

The law firm advising the shareholder group, Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins, alleges Shell's structure allowed it to 'falsify' reserves for almost 10 years.

Meanwhile, F&C states in its newly published annual voting and governance report for 2004 that it still has 'some concerns about the absence of new directors and the large size of the board'.

The report reveals F&C 'engaged' with 225 companies worldwide last year over bribery and corruption issues, 12% of all its company-shareholder discussions. The firm opposed management in 9% of all issues needing shareholder approval, up from 8% in 2003 and 5% in 2002.

http://www.thisislondon.com/news/business/articles/timid400412?source=This%20is%20Money

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