Reuters: Shell to pay $9.2 million to settle shareholder suits: “Shell… has been battling lawsuits and criminal and regulatory probes since it announced in January 2004 that it had overstated its oil and gas reserves by around 20 percent.”: Thursday 1 September 2005
Thu Sep 1, 2005 8:26 AM BST
LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said it will pay $9.2 million (5.1 million pounds) and adopt certain corporate governance principles to settle shareholder lawsuits related to a reserves-overbooking scandal last year.
The actions, pending in United States Federal courts in New York and New Jersey and in a New York State court, sought to assert claims against certain current and former directors at the world's third-largest listed oil firm by market value.
Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research)(RDSb.L: Quote, Profile, Research) has been battling lawsuits and criminal and regulatory probes since it announced in January 2004 that it had overstated its oil and gas reserves by around 20 percent.
The scandal led to the sacking of the group's top management and a sweeping restructuring which included the unification of its dual-headed, Anglo-Dutch ownership structure unified into a single firm.
Under the settlement, Shell has agreed to adopt undefined policies and standards in the areas of board composition and qualifications, membership and functions of board committees, director and senior management compensation, financial reporting and controls and corporate compliance and ethics.
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