Tony Blair made secret oil deal with Saudi Arabia

London: Former British premier Tony Blair made a secret deal with an oil company founded by the Saudi King’s son for a fee of about $75,000 a month and a 2 per cent cut of any contract he helped broker, media reports say.The deal signed in November 2010 between Tony Blair Associates and the oil firm PetroSaudi involved Blair arranging introductions to his contacts in China, including senior political figures, the Sunday Times reported.

The proposed fees were $ 75,600 a month and a 2 per cent cut of any deal Blair helped broker. The firm was told it could not divulge Blair’s role to anyone without permission, the paper said, citing documents. It is the first time any detailed contract negotiated on behalf of Blair has been leaked. It is also the first evidence of his work for a Middle Eastern oil firm, it said.

PetroSaudi was jointly founded by the Saudi businessman Tarek Obaid and Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud, a son of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.The disclosure will provoke fresh criticism of Blair’s role as a Middle East envoy and his private and undisclosed business interests, the paper said.