The former BP executive Leslie Abrahams told investigative reporter Greg Palast how the CIA, MI6 and British Petroleum engineered a coup d’état, overthrowing a nation’s elected president who was “not favorable to BP.” This journalistic investigation has been placed on British site TruthDig.

“In 1992, then-BP Chairman Lord Browne flew into Baku as soon as the young state elected its first president, Abulfaz Elchibey.
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher joined him At a state dinner, Browne handed Abrahams, a BP vice president at the time, a briefcase with a check for $30 million. Browne then gave the check to the president of Azerbaijan,” the article stated.

Still, the new president remained “not favorable” to BP’s demand for control of the Caspian oil, so MI6, the CIA and the corporation went into action, the author notes. The spy agencies armed and empowered former Soviet KGB chief Heydar Aliyev, who in 1993 overthrew Azerbaijan’s elected government. Once he became dictator, Aliyev named himself president for life and within four months signed a no-bid deal to give the reserves to BP, the author notes.

“BP executives did not deny the payoffs, and MI6 officers proudly confirmed the coup’s purpose of locking in the offshore deal for BP.”

The journalist tells that he revealed this story while investigating a material on the Gulf of Mexico for the Channel 4. He found out that a disaster had occurred in the Gulf of Mexico because of the BP. But, it turned out that this was not BP’s first cement failure and explosion. Earlier, BP’s Caspian Sea Transocean rig had suffered exactly the same fate. Palast left for Baku with his crew to find out what happened in reality.

“But we had been ratted out. My crew was placed under arrest by Azerbaijan’s secret police. Although officers demanded our film, I was allowed to keep my pen, which was actually a hidden camera,” he noted.

According to the journalist one of the arresting cops told them with odd pride, “BP drives this country.”

Robert Ebel, former chief of oil analysis for the CIA, estimates that at least $140 million in payments by BP for Azeri oil has gone unaccounted for. To the author, this money was appropriateed by the ruling elite of Azerbaijan who despite the small sallary likes to live kingly.

Azerbaijani oil worker advocate Mirvari Gahramanli said she was beaten by police for raising questions and showed the photographs.

What’s worse, while I was tossed out of the country, my witnesses disappeared, sums up Greg Palast.

According to TruthDig this reportage prepared by the journalist was presented by British Free Speech TV on Sunday.