Prince Bandar bin Bribe Bin Sultan

"But that was not the end of the matter. In 2007, the Guardian revealed that the claims the SFO had been investigating included one that BAE had secretly paid more than £1bn to Prince Bandar through a US bank, as well as making him the free gift of an airliner. The US justice department decided to launch its own investigation. At its heart were claims that BAE had been paying £30m every quarter for at least a decade to the colourful prince. The US prosecutors could take jurisdiction as the payments had been channelled through a US bank in Washington where Bandar was the Saudi ambassador for 20 years. The British government refused to hand over documents about the Bandar payments to help the American prosecutors, payments allegedly made with the knowledge and authorisation of Ministry of Defence officials. Ministers had claimed for 20 years that there were no secret commission payments, and BAE officially promised the US government the same in a 2000 official letter which later proved to be its undoing." (thanks Hani)