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In the UK in February 2007, Mike O'Brien, the Solicitor General, confirmed earlier reports that BAE was under investigation for corruption in relation to sales in Qatar.

Allegations first surfaced in reports by The Guardian newspaper in June 2003, which reported that Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber, the ruler's cousin, had been paid a £7m commission into a secret Jersey trust run by Grindlay's bank. According to the Guardian the Serious Fraud Office traced the payment to BAE and to a deal to sell Piranha armoured cars, originally brokered in 1996 by Michael Portillo, then the Tory defence secretary, now on the BAE board. The Guardian also reported that police investigations into the Sheikh were halted after he made payments of £6m to the Jersey authorities.