FINANCIAL TIMES: Deal signed to expose bribery: Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of the mining company Anglo-American… criticised the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for not taking more of a direct role in auditing revenues.” (ShellNews.net) Posted 18 March 05 (PLUS RELATED COMMENTARY BY THE PUBLISHER OF THIS WEBSITE: Sir Mark Moody-Stuart once again displays breathtaking hypocrisy on the subject of bribery...)

By Alan Beattie, World Trade Editor

An international scheme to stamp out bribery in the oil, gas and mining business on Thursday agreed to adopt tough new guidelines to hold companies and governments accountable, pleasing campaigners who had pushed for the new rules.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a proposal from the UK government which has gained increasing support from resource-rich developing countries, agreed the guidelines at a conference in London.

The guidelines will require signatory governments to publish all payments to them from oil and mining companies operating in their country, to subject all such revenues to an independent audit, and to consult with local non-governmental organisations about the monitoring of the industry.

Global Witness, a transparency campaign that had threatened to boycott the conference unless the guidelines were agreed, said they were a substantial step forward.

"The EITI process has now got some real teeth and should be able to make faster progress," said Gavin Hayman, a campaigner with the organisation.

Extractive industries have long been criticised for perpetuating the "resource curse" - distorting the economy and propping up corrupt and autocratic governments that exploit their control of the revenues to keep themselves in power.

The initiative has attracted the support of several oil-rich countries including Angola, Azerbaijan and the Kyrgyz Republic.

At Thursday's conference, some resource-rich countries frequently criticised for lack of transparency, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea, also said they were interested.

But other countries, including China, India and members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, have yet to support it.

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chairman of the mining company Anglo-American, said that while the responsibility for signing up lay with the governments, international oil and mining companies could encourage them to do so.

"When the process was developed, people expected the resource-rich countries to take the lead," Sir Mark said. "With the exception of Norway, this has not happened."

He also criticised the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank for not taking more of a direct role in auditing revenues.

Andrew Swiger, executive vice-president of ExxonMobil, said that the best way of widening participation in the initiative would be to encourage resource-rich nations with state-owned oil companies to participate.

The EITI was launched two years ago after pressure from campaigners who proposed an initiative called "Publish What You Pay". That would have put the onus on the oil and mining companies rather than host governments to reveal oil and mining royalty payments.

Mr Hayman said that two years after the EITI was launched, the first data on payments and revenues were only just beginning to be published.

"Some would see the glass as half-empty, but we see it as half-full," he said.

END OF FT ARTICLE

Comment by ShellNews.net owner, Alfred Donovan.

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart once again displays breathtaking hypocrisy on the subject of bribery. Evidence is posted on this website (click on link below) of how Sir Mark and his entire management chose to ignore irrefutable documentary evidence of blatantly corrupt practices at Shell UK when he was Group Chairman of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. Sir Mark remains a Shell director. He is also one of the individuals currently the subject of an investigation by the US Justice Department in relation to the Shell reserves scandal. Sir Mark is also a named defendant in a multi-billion dollar class action law suit also in respect of the reserves debacle which destroyed Shell’s reputation.  

FRAUDULENT PRACTICES AT SHELL CONDONED BY ROYAL DUTCH SHELL SENIOR MANAGEMENT

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