Shell Playing \"Hide The Cash\"

Or does this belong in P&C?

An Oil Giant In Crisis

Shell admits deceiving shareholders; Sacked chairman savaged in report
By Katherine Griffiths, Banking Correspondent
20 April 2004

Shell was embroiled yesterday in Britain's biggest corporate scandal for almost 20 years after it admitted a three-year plan to deceive its shareholders.

The City reacted with astonishment after the crisis-stricken multinational released details from an internal report that exposed how the company had deliberately overstated its oil and gas reserves for several years.

Judy Boynton, the finance chief, became the third boardroom casualty of the furore that followed the shock 20 per cent downgrade in reserves three months ago. The Shell affair, the most damaging scandal in the UK since the Guinness debacle 18 years ago, has already led to the departure of the chairman, Sir Philip Watts, and the head of exploration and production, Walter van de Vijver.

The pair were savaged in the damning, independent report commissioned by Shell for appearing to know that reserves failed to meet market rules as far back as 2001. The report listed a bewildering array of e-mails sent between increasingly desperate executives. In one, Mr van de Vijver told Sir Philip last November: "I am sick and tired about lying about the extent of our reserves issues and the downward revisions that need to be done because of far too aggressive/optimistic bookings.''

Yikes! Do we need more evidence that corporations can''t be trusted to regulate themselves?

I''m shocked! Shocked I say! I can only assume the execs responsible will get little to know punishment, allowing them to enjoy the fruits of their massive fraud.

Yikes! Do we need more evidence that corporations can''t be trusted to regulate themselves?

I''d give my opinion on this, but then it''d be moved immediately to the P&C forum by the pro-corporate demon ninjas.

*edited because Mateo has quite the point there :D*

"Farscry" wrote:
Yikes! Do we need more evidence that corporations can''t be trusted to regulate themselves?

I''d give my opinion on this, but then it''d be moved immediately to the P&C forum by the pro-corporate ninjas. ;)

We''re not ninjas. We''re corporate DEMON ninjas. Get it right.

If you have to ask if a thread should be in P&C, then it almost always does.