Bahraini sheikh denies corruption allegations - FT.com

A senior member of Bahrain’s royal family has denied accusations of corruption levelled against him as part of a UK case against a London-based businessman over contracts between Alcoa, the US aluminium group, and Bahrain Aluminium, or Alba.

“Isa Bin Ali al-Khalifa wishes to categorically deny the allegations of corruption reported against him in the press following the charges brought against certain parties,” said a statement issued on Tuesday on behalf of the sheikh by M. Ardavan Amir-Aslani, a Paris-based lawyer.

Sheikh Isa Bin Ali al-Khalifa, an adviser to Bahrain’s influential prime minister, was accused of receiving corrupt payments of almost $6m in 2003-2004 from Victor Dahdaleh, a British-Canadian businessman charged with corruption by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

* username: rupertbu