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In April 2008, the UK's High Court quashed the decision of the Serious Fraud Office to drop an investigation into a military contract between BAE and Saudi Arabia. It also gave the Serious Fraud Office permission to appeal to the House of Lords against an earlier judgment that the SFO acted unlawfully when it stopped the investigation.

In December 2006, the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced its decision to halt the investigation into BAE Systems Plc and the Al Yamamah military contract with the Government of Saudi Arabia.

The SFO's press release stated that the decision had been taken "following representations that have been made both to the Attorney General and the Director of the SFO concerning the need to safeguard national and international security" and that it was "necessary to balance the need to maintain the rule of law against the wider public interest".

The decision may be in breach of Article 5 of the OECD Anti-bribery Convention, which requires that investigation and prosecution of foreign bribery "shall not be influenced by considerations of national economic interest" or "the potential effect upon relations with another State".

Corner House and the Campaign Against Arms Trade, the NGOs that took the legal action to challenge the decision must now await the outcome of the appeal.