Cheney's Halliburton May Cause Him Problems

[Doug]

Cheney Fitted for New Halliburton Striped Jumpsuit
Thursday, 2 November 2006, 2:49 pm
Opinion: Evelyn Pringle

Dick Cheney Fitted for New Halliburton Uniform - Striped Jumpsuit
From here.

By Evelyn PringleThe US Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a formal investigation into whether Halliburton made improper payments to government officials in Nigeria in connection with the construction and expansion by TSKJ of a natural gas liquefaction complex and facilities at Bonny Island in Rivers State, Nigeria.

...The US Department of Justice is also conducting a related criminal investigation of the Nigerian bribery matter pursuant to the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

In addition to the SEC and the DOJ investigations, other investigations are being conducted in France, Nigeria and Switzerland and in Nigeria, a legislative committee of the National Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are also investigating the matter.

And last but not least, on August 7, 2006, the Financial Times of London reported that KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, is being investigated by Britain's Serious Fraud Office over the company's role in an alleged plot to pay more than $170 million in bribes to win $7 billion worth of contracts at a Nigerian oil plant.

During the investigations, information has surfaced suggesting that at least 10 years ago, members of TSKJ planned to make bribery payments to Nigerian officials.

...The payments were made during Cheney's tenure, and according to the Boson Globe, "If such payments were made and Cheney approved them, he could be guilty of violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act."

Mr Tesler swears that Cheney knew about the bribes. He testified under oath in May, 2004 that he made payments to Jack Stanley, while Stanley was president of KBR, and specifically testified that Cheney approved the payments.

...The current investigation into the payment of $170 million in bribes could be near to a conclusion because Halliburton seems to be ready to throw in the towel.

"We have reason to believe," Halliburton said in its SEC filing, "based on the ongoing investigations, that payments may have been made to Nigerian officials."

So if Dick Cheney goes missing again, it probably just means that he's off being fitted for a new Halliburton uniform - a striped jumpsuit.

[Barbara Fitzpatrick]

Maybe there's a god after all.

[Hogeye]

Definitely what Cheney did was immoral and sleazy. It is also standard operating procedure for rulers and cronies in the US government. It is a single example in the "corporatocracy" that has bribed and even assassinated (when bribery didn't work) for decades. Basically, it's standard US policy for conducting "foreign aid." For those interested in the process, described by a man who worked as an insider for many years, I recommend Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins.

The corporatocracy is not simply one man, or one faction or party - it is how the US operates in foreign policy in conjuntion with its crony corporations. IOW that's statism wrt foreign policy.