Allivane and Allivane International
Allivane Limited and Allivane International Limited
Formation: Established in 1982 by Terence Charles Byrne Jr and two associates, acting on instructions from William Casey, then Director of the CIA (1981–1987). Allivane International Limited was registered in the UK, with an office at 92 Horseferry Road, Victoria, London, by 1986.
Purpose: Served as a CIA/MI6 front company for covert arms deals, primarily exporting munitions to Middle Eastern countries, including Iran and Iraq, in violation of UK and UN arms embargoes.
Allivane International Group
A shadow entity created in 1986, not legally registered in the UK, used to obscure illegal arms shipments. It shared the same company number as Allivane International Limited, complicating traceability.
Described as a “ghost company” by whistleblower Frank Machon, it facilitated exports to Iran and Iraq with the knowledge of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Key Activities
Exported “very substantial” munitions from its base in Scotland to countries including Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Portugal (Aginter Press), Austria, Iran, and Iraq. These exports often used third-party destinations to bypass embargoes.
Supplied ammunition, military fuses, shells, and propellant technologies, including 155mm Elite shells for the Space Research Corporation (SRC), linked to the Iraqi supergun project.
Collaborated with other front companies like Astra Holdings, Matrix Churchill, and Muiden Chemie (Netherlands), forming part of a “propellant cartel”.
Ownership and Connections
Ultimate owner was Carlos Cardoen, a Chilean arms dealer tied to Lagan Investments of Panama, who received UK funds for covert deals.
Linked to James Guerin, founder of International Signal and Control (ISC), which defrauded Ferranti in a £400 million scam.
Financed by Midland Bank and BCCI, with the latter handling transactions for the unregistered Allivane International Group.
Corporate Structure and Operations
Allivane Limited: The original UK entity, set up in 1982, focused on manufacturing and exporting munitions from facilities in Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, and other Scottish sites.
Allivane International Limited
Registered in the UK and later in Trenton, New Jersey (January 1, 1985, File Number 0100247659).
Operated as a front for CIA/MI6, exporting arms to Middle Eastern countries via intermediaries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Worked with the MoD, which supplied arms components and storage facilities, and the DTI, which issued export licenses.
Allivane International Group
A fictitious name used to shield illegal exports, with a false address (15 John Street, London) listed until 1985, despite the real office being at 92 Horseferry Road.
Received export licenses from the DTI, raising questions about government complicity.
Key Figures
Terence Charles Byrne Jr: Chairman, set up Allivane under Casey’s direction, accused of embezzling £2.2 million by managing director Gerrard Heneaghan in 1988.
Stephanus Adolphus Kock: Midland Bank appointee to Astra’s board, liaised with MI5, MI6, and UK officials (e.g., Lord Cuckney, Lord Levene) to run illegal operations.
Frank Machon: A Glasgow constituent who contracted with Allivane to transport 1,000 tonnes of fuses and explosives in 1988, later exposed its role in illegal arms exports.
Carlos Cardoen: Chilean arms dealer, ultimate owner, linked to broader CIA networks.
Controversies and Investigations
Scott Report (1996): The Scott Report, investigating UK arms sales to Iraq during the 1980–1990 Iran-Iraq War, detailed Allivane’s exports to Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, and Austria (1985–1989), noting shipments to Iraq via intermediaries. The report described Allivane as a key player in breaching the UK’s arms embargo, with government knowledge. The government suppressed parts of the report to obscure the full extent of UK/US involvement.
Customs and Police Raids
In 1987, HM Customs & Excise raided Allivane’s London office, alongside Astra Explosives and Matrix Churchill, following a Dutch investigation into Muiden Chemie’s shipments to Iran. No prosecutions resulted, indicating the government in a cover-up and used the raid as a way of obtaining incriminating evidence.
In 1988, Strathclyde Police investigated fraud allegations by Heneaghan against Byrne, passing evidence of illegal exports to Customs, but the inquiry was closed.
Insolvency and Cover-Up
By 1988, Allivane was insolvent, requiring MoD intervention to fulfill a Saudi Arabia arms order. It collapsed, rebranded as Aerotechnologies, which also went bust. The collapse of related firms (Astra, Polly Peck, Ferranti/ISC, BCCI) was allegedly deliberate to erase evidence of illegal arms deals. Legal firms like Baileys Shaw & Gillett and Wright Webb & Syrrett, tied to Allivane, also went out of business, likely to obscure government involvement.
Operation Gladio
According to Paul Williams, after Stibam was raided, the CIA set up new shipping companies to continue the drug trafficking and weapons trafficking. Allivance and Allivane International were set up in both Scotland and Israel by Terence Charles Byrne Jr, and American arms dealer. One of the first shipments was to Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran as part of the October Surprise promise. Another shipment contained three flasks of radioactive cesium, sent to Denmark, then to Portugal, Cyprus, Israel and then Iran. An additional 120 shipping operations were set up along the coast of Europe.