Former Rolls-Royce boss hires Nick Leeson’s lawyer, say reports

Sir John Rose

Former chief executive of Rolls-Royce, Sir John Rose has hired the lawyer who defended rogue Barings trader Nick Leeson to defend himself against any allegations that he was involved in the bribery of export agents on behalf of the Derby-headquartered manufacturer.

Reports suggest that Rose, who is now deputy chairman of Rothschild and a director of Hakluyt, has hired Stephen Pollard of the London brand of US firm WilmerHale.

Last week Rolls-Royce said it will pay out £671m in penalties after coming to an agreement with the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and a Leniency Agreement with Brazil’s Ministério Público Federal (MPF).

The news comes after a long-running investigation into claims that Rolls-Royce bribed agents to win export contracts.

Rolls-Royce said it has agreed to make payments to the DoJ totalling $169,917,710 and to the MPF totalling $25,579,179. Under the terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the SFO, Rolls-Royce will pay £497,252,645 plus interest under a schedule lasting up to five years, plus a payment in respect of the SFO’s costs.

The payments mean that the firm will avoid being prosecuted in the UK, US and Brazil over the claims, although individual employees of Rolls-Royce could still be charged.

It is understood that Pollard is helping Rose to field questions from the Serious Fraud Office. Rose was at the helm of Rolls-Royce when most of the alleged crimes were committed.

Pollard declined to comment on the reports.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close