"Reaping the whirlwind" by Michael Griffin, published by Pluto Books.

The following press release with accompanying texts was issued by Kendall Freeman on 15 March 2004:

Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum accept substantial damages and apology from Michael Griffin and Pluto Press

Saudi businessman Sheikh Khalid bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum, an oil exploration company, have accepted substantial damages and a comprehensive apology from publisher Pluto Press and author Michael Griffin in settlement of a libel action following publication of a revised edition of the book "Reaping the Whirlwind", it was announced in the High Court in London today.

Sheikh Khalid, for many years Chairman of Saudi Arabia's National Commercial Bank, and Nimir Petroleum, a London based oil company owned by Sheikh Khalid's sons, commenced libel proceedings against Pluto Press and Michael Griffin following the publication of the book alleging Sheikh Khalid funded bin Laden's and Al Qa'ida's terrorist activities, had been dismissed from NCB because of the funding of terrorism, and as a result had also been stripped of his Saudi passport and confined to a military hospital by the Saudi authorities. It was also alleged that Nimir Petroleum was owned by a funder and supporter of Osama bin Laden and Al Qa'ida and was a party to negotiations with the Taliban in connection with an oil pipeline to be built across Afghanistan.

In today's hearing at the High Court before Mr Justice Eady, the publisher and author accepted that there was no truth whatsoever in any of these allegations. They acknowledged that Sheikh Khalid had no connection whatsoever with Osama bin Laden or the supporting or funding of terrorist activities, left NCB only for health reasons and was not stripped of his passport or confined to a military hospital. They also accepted that Nimir Petroleum was not owned by a funder of terrorism and was not involved in any Afghan pipeline project and has never had any dealings with the Taliban regime.

Sincerely apologising for any distress and embarrassment that these false statements caused to Sheikh Khalid and his family, Pluto Press and Michael Griffin confirmed that they had agreed to destroy all unsold copies of the book, to undertake not to repeat the allegations, and to publish an apology on www.plutobooks.com, in the Bookseller magazine and in the British Institute of Middle East Studies Newsletter. The publisher and author are paying substantial damages as well as paying Sheikh Khalid's and Nimir's legal costs.

Laurence Harris, partner at Kendall Freeman, solicitors acting for Sheikh Khalid and Nimir Petroleum said: "Sheikh Khalid and Nimir Petroleum welcome this settlement. When the book was published Sheikh Khalid and Nimir Petroleum had no choice but to bring proceedings to put to rest these very serious and false allegations. They are pleased that their reputations have been vindicated and that Pluto Press and Michael Griffin have recognised there was no truth whatsoever in the allegations. They will be donating the substantial damages paid by the publisher and author to UNICEF".

Following a similar recent settlement involving the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Sheikh Khalid is continuing to pursue libel proceedings in London against the author Jean Charles Brisard in relation to a book published by him and Guillaume Dasquie making similar allegations. Sheikh Khalid recently obtained judgment against Brisard and two companies owned by him in another action for libel in relation to certain documents published on a website.
ENDS

Notes for Editors:
The parties have agreed that the amount of damages being paid and contribution to costs being made by Pluto Press and Michael Griffin is to be kept confidential.


The full text of the statement before Mr Justice Eady in the High Court in London:

STATEMENT IN OPEN COURT

Solicitor for the Claimant:

1. My Lord, I appear on behalf of the Claimants, Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum Limited. My friend, Mr John Rubinstein, appears on behalf of the Defendants, who are Mr Michael Griffin, a freelance writer, and Pluto Press Limited, a publisher.

2. Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz is a 54 year old Saudi Arabian businessman. Nimir Petroleum Limited is an oil exploration company with its registered office in London. It is owned by Sheikh Abdulrahman Bin Mahfouz and Sheikh Sultan Bin Mahfouz, who are sons of Sheikh Khalid.

3. In the autumn of 2003, the First Defendant wrote and the Second Defendant published a revised edition of a book entitled Reaping the Whirlwind. The book made a number of serious and highly defamatory allegations about Sheikh Khalid. These included that:

1. Sheikh Khalid is a funder of and supporter of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qa'ida;
   
   

2. Sheikh Khalid transferred funds used to finance Al Qa'ida attacks including the 1995 assassination attempt on President Mubarak of Egypt; those transfers were discovered as a result of a Saudi Government audit of National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia; and
   
   

3. in consequence of this discovery, the Saudi authorities forcibly bought Sheikh Khalid's shares in the National Commercial Bank, stripped him of his Saudi passport and confined him to a military hospital.
   
   

The book also made two serious and highly defamatory allegations about the Second Claimant, namely that:

1. Nimir Petroleum is owned by a funder and supporter of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qa'ida; and
   
   

2. Nimir Petroleum was a party to negotiating with the Taliban regime in connection with an oil pipeline to be built across Afghanistan.
   
   

4. There is no truth whatsoever in any of these allegations. Neither Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz nor Nimir Petroleum have any connection with Osama Bin Laden and have never supported terrorism or Al Qa'ida in any way. There was never any secret audit of National Commercial Bank which uncovered any transfers by Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz which supported terrorism, nor has the Saudi Government ever taken any action against Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz to punish him for alleged links to terrorism. Moreover, Nimir Petroleum was not involved in any Afghan oil pipeline project and has never had any dealings with the Taliban regime. Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and his family abhor terrorism in every way.

5. Mr Griffin and Pluto Press have accepted that the allegations which they made against Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum are wholly unjustified. They have therefore undertaken to the Court not to repeat the allegations complained of and to publish an apology in agreed terms on Pluto Press's website, in the Bookseller magazine and in the British Institute of Middle East Studies Newsletter. They have also agreed to destroy all unsold copies of the book. In addition, by way of acknowledgement of the grave embarrassment and distress caused to Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum, Mr Griffin and Pluto Press have agreed to pay substantial damages which the Claimants are donating to UNICEF. Mr Griffin and Pluto Press will also be paying the Claimants' legal costs.

6. An agreed draft Order has been handed up which the parties invite the Court to make. On that basis, the Claimants consider that their purpose in bringing this action has been achieved and they are prepared not to pursue the action further.

Solicitor for the Defendants:

7. My Lord, on behalf of Michael Griffin and Pluto Press, I confirm what my friend has said. Through me, Mr Griffin and Pluto Press sincerely apologise to Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum for the grave distress and embarrassment caused to them as a result of the wholly untrue and unjustified allegations made in Reaping the Whirlwind referred to by Mr Harris.

Solicitor for the Claimant:

8. My Lord, with that, Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum are content to let the matter rest. All that remains is for me to ask your Lordship's permission for an Order in the terms of the draft.

The text of the apology to be published by Pluto Press is as follows:

"Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum: An apology by Michael Griffin and Pluto Press

In the autumn of 2003, Michael Griffin wrote and Pluto Press published a revised edition of a book entitled "Reaping the Whirlwind", in which it was wrongly alleged that Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz was a supporter and funder of terrorism, Osama Bin Laden and Al Qa'ida and that he had transferred funds to support terrorist activities through the National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia. It was further wrongly suggested that the Saudi authorities discovered this funding after a secret audit of National Commercial Bank and then forcibly bought Sheikh Khalid's shares in National Commercial Bank, stripped him of his Saudi passport and confined him to a military hospital to punish him for these activities. It also wrongly alleged that Nimir Petroleum Limited is owned by a funder and supporter of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qa'ida and that it was a party to negotiating with the Taliban regime in connection with an oil pipeline to be built across Afghanistan.

Michael Griffin and Pluto Press accept that there is no truth whatsoever in any of these serious and highly defamatory allegations. Neither Sheikh Khalid nor Nimir Petroleum have any connection with Osama Bin Laden and have never supported terrorism or Al Qa'ida in any way. There was never any secret audit of National Commercial Bank which uncovered any transfers by Sheikh Khalid which supported terrorism. Moreover, Nimir Petroleum was not involved in any Afghan oil pipeline project and has never had any dealings with the Taliban regime. Michael Griffin and Pluto Press accept that Sheikh Khalid and his family abhor terrorism in every way and apologise to Sheikh Khalid Bin Mahfouz and Nimir Petroleum for the grave distress and embarrassment that they caused. They have agreed to pay substantial damages which Sheikh Khalid and Nimir are donating to charity, together with their legal costs."