Daily Mail: Timebomb under the Shell chiefs

16 March 2004,

THE timebomb that is Shell's internal investigation into the reserves fiasco is ticking away under top management as speculation grows that more heads will roll.   

Shell insists it 'does not anticipate any further announcements at this moment'. It is braced for more criticism when its 2003 annual report is issued on Friday.

Ousted chairman Sir Philip Watts got £1.8m pay and bonuses in 2002. He might have done even better last year after Shell's profits soared, though the 'shareholder value' part of his bonus would have collapsed.

The full report of Shell's board audit committee is up to three weeks away.

A preliminary report uncovered memos to surviving executives discussing the oil reserve problems two years before they were publicly disclosed.

Shell did quash one rumour: that it was hiring Harvey Pitt, former head of US watchdog the SEC.

©2004 Associated Newspapers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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