Halliburton may pay $500 million to keep Cheney out of prison

[gl89aw]

I have no sympathy for Cheney, I worked for Dresser when Cheney was at Halliburton and they bought us, When Cheney left Halliburton to be VP they voted him a 20 mil. + retirement package even though it wasn't in his contract. Later they stuck the screws to the Dresser people and reduced their retirement lump sums by around 40% that we were fully vested in and were elgible for at 55, told us we could get the full benefit if we waited to 65 but most didn't trust them to honor that so probable 80% took the approx. 40% cut figuring it was better than nothing at 65. No lawyers would take the case to fight them and the N.Y. Senator in the factorys district said that what they did was legal but certainly unethical. I will go to my grave believing that Cheney orchestrated it before he left. That 40% would sure come in handy now.

One thing I have learned after retiring (38 years service, same co.) If I had it to do over I would not stick with the same good ole company, I would go wherever the most money was, I passed up a lot of opportunities because of misplaced loyalty and if you think that the people in Human Resources are there to look out for you you probably still believe in the tooth fairy to.

 

[Hobbes]

More of the story:


Ex-KBR Consultant Pleads Guilty in Nigerian Bribe Case
December 06, 2010, 3:30 PM EST

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Wojciech J. Chodan, a former consultant to a U.K. unit of KBR Inc., pleaded guilty to U.S. charges that he conspired to bribe Nigerian officials to obtain $6 billion in contracts for a liquefied natural gas project.

Chodan, a U.K. citizen who was extradited on Dec. 3, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Houston to conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an anti- bribery law. He faces as long as five years in prison when he’s sentenced on Feb. 22. He is cooperating with the government and has agreed to forfeit $726,885, according to court filings.

“Chodan admitted that from approximately 1994 through June 2004, he and his co-conspirators agreed to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials, including top-level executive branch officials, in order to obtain and retain engineering, procurement and construction contracts,’’ the U.S. Justice Department said today in a statement.

The Bonny Island project in Nigeria pipes liquefied natural gas from wellheads to processing plants, purifies it and loads it onto tankers for export. Engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the project were worth more than $6 billion, prosecutors said.

Andrew Lourie, a lawyer for Chodan, declined to comment.

Albert Jack Stanley, a former KBR chairman, pleaded guilty in 2008 to conspiring to violate the FCPA. Stanley, who hasn’t been sentenced, admitted that he helped arrange $182 million in bribes.

$579 Million Penalties

KBR and its former parent, Halliburton Co., agreed in February 2009 to pay a total of $579 million in penalties for their role in the scheme and to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. KBR split off from Halliburton in 2007.

On Dec. 1, Nigerian officials said they intended to file charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who was Halliburton’s chief executive officer from 1995 to 2000. Godwin Obla, prosecuting counsel at Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said indictments could be filed in the West African nation as soon as this week. Arrest warrants would be issued through Interpol for Cheney and officials of five companies including Halliburton over their alleged roles in the bribery scheme, Obla said.

Technip SA, Europe’s second-largest oilfield-services provider, agreed to pay $338 million in June to avoid U.S. prosecution and resolve civil claims.

In July, Snamprogetti Netherlands BV also agreed to pay a $240 million criminal fine to avoid U.S. prosecution over its role in the Nigerian scheme.

The case is U.S. v. Chodan, 4:09-cr-00098, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).


http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...ant-pleads-guilty-in-nigerian-bribe-case.html

 

[KOPBET]

If they put Cheny in jail, will the SS agents have to go with him? Just wondering...

 

[Mechanicalmehem]

... So where does the money that they paid the us go? Shouldn't it go to the US defecit?
--Mech

 

[farmerbyron]

So it is Cheney that knows a long lost Nigerian prince needing $50 wired to him to collect on his fortune. You would have thought Cheney was smarter than to fall for that scam.

 

[Glocktogo]

I'm sure Dick will send them the money, if they will kindly supply a bank account number in which to deposit the funds.

 

[RickN]

The truly sad thing is that you can NOT do business in Nigeria or many other countries without paying bribes. Seems they just did not pay the right people.

 

[tomthebaker]

The truly sad thing is that you can NOT do business in Nigeria or many other countries without paying bribes. Seems they just did not pay the right people.

this

 

[DirtyDawg]

All of the upper management of any company caught bribing should be thrown in prison. If you're at that level, you have obviously worked yourself up thru the ranks and know about kickbacks and bribes. If shady business deals are required to do business in foreign countries, then U.S. owned businesses should not do business there. By condoning and participating, we are incentivizing this type of behavior. Meanwhile, the stockholders of the company get screwed on the loss of their money in lawsuits, bribes, and defense.

 

[Cinaet]

This accusation comes from the same country that protects 90% of the people who commit fraud on the Internet.

Anyway, we should hand over Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice and Bush as a war crimes package, and then throw in Palin, Limbaugh and Beck as a bonus.