Halliburton Unit In Consortium Fingered For Alleged Corruption The Houston Business Journal
Friday 10 October 2003
A consortium including a unit of Houston-based Halliburton Co. is the target of a probe alleging corruption during construction of a natural gas complex in Nigeria, the Associated Press reported on Friday.
Renaud Van Ruymbeke, a French judge, is investigating who may have benefited from $200 million in commissions allegedly handed out from 1990 to 2002, officials told AP on condition of anonymity.
The companies in the consortium are Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root subsidiary, France's Technip, Italy's Snamprogetti and Japan's JGC.
The inquiry in France is for "misuse of funds" and "corruption of foreign public agents," the officials said.
According to AP, the inquiry stemmed from a separate, years-long investigation into former French state-run oil giant Elf Aquitaine, according to a report in Le Figaro newspaper that was confirmed by judicial officials.
In May, Halliburton disclosed in a federal filing that it paid a Nigerian tax official $2.4 million in bribes to get favorable tax treatment. The company fired several employees and stressed none of its senior offices were involved. Halliburton has said it was cooperating with a review by the Securities and Exchange Commission, AP reported.
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Mitayo Potosi
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