Tuesday, December 7, 2010

HOT: Nigeria Charges Dick Cheney with Bribery; 16 Counts

The Nigerian government has charged former Vice President Dick Cheney with bribery for his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal.

The African country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission charges that Cheney in connection with bribes totaling $180 million, believed to have been paid to Nigerian officials by Halliburton, during the period Cheney headed the company, from 1995 to 2000.

UPDATE: The Nigeria Daily Independent writes:
Sixteen counts were filed against Cheney and the others at the Abuja High Court over their alleged role in the $180 million Halliburton bribery scandal.


Among the eight others are Halliburton Incorporated, Halliburton Nigeria, Kellogs, Brown & Root (KBR), and Albert Jack Stanley, KBR Chairman.

William Utt, David Lesar, TSKJ Nigeria, and TSKJ Consortium are also to stand trial in the alleged scam involving construction of a liquefied natural gas plant on Bonny Island, Rivers State.

The EFCC had on December 2 said it was preparing charges against Cheney, who was Halliburton Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 1995 to 2000.

He became Vice President to former President George W. Bush in 2001.

The EFCC had also summoned top local officials from Halliburton as part of investigation, after raiding the Lagos office of the company.

It seized documents and detained the Managing Director.

However, the U.S authorities said on Monday they would not release Cheney, who is protected round the clock by the Secret Service.

“We have received requests from Nigeria but the current administration will not send a former American Vice President to a foreign country for trial,” a top U.S. administration official told Daily Independent in Washington.
UPDATE 2: LOL. Judging by this it looks like Nigeria is trying to shakedown Cheney and Haliburton. More from the Daily Independednt:

What is also known, however, is that the EFCC is negotiating with Technip SA of France, Eni SpA of Italy, and JGC Corporation of Japan to settle out of court.

“Talks are ongoing and we hope to reach a settlement very soon, once the amount has been agreed by the parties,” EFCC prosecuting counsel, Godwin Obla, disclosed in an interview at his office in Abuja.

Nigeria wants at least $150 million from each of the companies, and “We think that’s only fair,” Obla maintained...Technip took a charge of 245 million euros ($342 million) related to its stake in TSKJ and discussed “resolution of all potential claims” with the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Technip confirmed on February 12.

KBR and Halliburton agreed to pay $579 million in February last year in a similar deal.

2 comments:

  1. Cheney: "But they were just facilitating payments!"

    http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2007/01/halliburtons-policies-provide-for.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. The powerful protect their own:

    http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2010/12/cheneys-african-graft.html

    ReplyDelete