Blackmail, Sex & Corporate Secrets

When a London tabloid threatened to out Lord Browne, the BP C.E.O. was forced to step down. Now, as the global oil giant struggles with a change in management and a crush of wrongful-death lawsuits, shareholders are learning that his company may also have been leading a double life

…Browne had his critics outside the oil industry too. The company was accused of committing human rights violations while building a pipeline in Colombia, and concerns were expressed about North Sea pollution. Greenpeace selected Browne for its Best Impression of an Environmentalist award. Matt Simmons, whose Houston-based Simmons & Co. is one of the largest investment-banking businesses serving the energy sector, was deeply skeptical of Browne


…On March 23, 2005, something went very wrong at BP