One of the US largest military contractors, Harris Corporation (now L3Harris), was paying commissions to a Saudi company later alleged to have been a channel for bribes for the royal family, The Guardian reported.

A document shown in a UK criminal trial revealed that the Saudi company that received the payments was managed by the Fustoks, a Lebanese family with close ties with one branch of the Saudi royal family for decades.

Fustok family members and their company, Arab Builders for Telecommunications and Security Services (ABTSS), were accused by UK anti-corruption prosecutors of having received bribes between 2008 and 2010 in a defense deal.

The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), responsible for corruption prosecution in the UK, stated that ABTSS and another company received the payments “as an inducement or reward” for the contracts by the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

Read more: UK MoD paid millions into Saudi account amid BAE corruption scandal

It was revealed that the main recipient of the payments, as per prosecutors, was Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, who, in 2017, was one of the highest-profile Saudis detained in the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s alleged “anti-corruption” campaign.

After reportedly agreeing to a $1 billion settlement, he was released although it remains unclear what he was actually accused of.

The documents surfaced during a long-running UK criminal prosecution against a British company, GPT Special Project Management, and two individuals. In 2021, GPT pleaded guilty to involvement in the making of corrupt payments to Miteb through ABTSS and others between 2008 and 2010.  

The two unnamed individuals were cleared of wrongdoing by a jury last week after claiming the payments took place with the approval of the British and Saudi governments.

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The corruption of Saudi Arabia

Court documents show that back in January 2013, Saudi officials ordered the UK Ministry of Defence to sign a direct contract with Harris worth $93 million.

The money was paid for using Saudi funds held by the MoD for spending on a UK-Saudi defense deal under the name Sangcom.

The UK provided military communications tech and training to the National Guard via Sangcom whose commander was Miteb.

Gary Robson, the company’s sales director in the Middle East, wrote at the time to the MoD to notify it of a “commission that will be payable as a result of Harris entering into the contract."

In the letter provided to the court, Robson said, “Harris has in place a longstanding agency agreement with ABTSS … for representation of Harris within the kingdom,” adding that under the terms, which he said had been effective for 22 years, Harris paid commission “on all Saudi Arabian national guard business concluded by Harris within KSA [the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]."

Robson stated that standard procedure was for a “contingent fee” on any contract with Miteb’s National Guard to be “required” by ABTSS, yet deductible from Harris profits instead of that included in the contract price,

The commission paid by Harris to ABTSS on the contract would be $14m out of $93m.

Robson continued that Harris would receive a list of “important value-added services” in exchange for the money, including “logistics, key liaison language and cultural guidance and services”, “general managing support,” and “documentation and visa support."

Defense lawyers expressed that payment descriptions between Harris and ABTSS were “suspiciously vague”, but government lawyers argued that Harris provided the MoD with compliance documents, such as a 2013 due diligence review of ABTSS by a law firm.

Although it remains unclear if Harris knew of the connection between ABTSS or the Fustoks and Miteb, the owner Salah Fustok was described in court as Prince Miteb’s “business manager”.  

A company spokesperson told The Guardian, “L3Harris has a robust and long-established compliance programme. We remain committed to the work we performed on behalf of the UK’s Ministry of Defence and the government of Saudi Arabia.”