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Nigeria Orders an Investigation of Halliburton Gas Payments
February 7, 2004 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ABUJA, Nigeria, Feb. 6 - Nigeria on Friday ordered an investigation into allegations that a Halliburton subsidiary paid $180 million in bribes to land a natural gas project contract here. Vice President Dick Cheney was head of Halliburton at the time. The allegations are already under scrutiny in the United States and France. Inquiries by the United States Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission were disclosed this week. President Olusegun Obasanjo has ordered a "high-level investigation" into the allegations, a presidential spokeswoman, Remi Oyo, said here in the capital. Ms. Oyo said the investigation was being led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, a body Mr. Obasanjo set up to fight rampant breaches of financial law. The $4 billion Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Plant was built in the 1990's by a consortium that included Kellogg Brown & Root, a unit of Halliburton. Cathy Gist, a spokeswoman for Halliburton, which is based in Houston, said that the Nigerian government had not notified the company of the investigation and that Halliburton did not have reason to assume any of its employees or those employed by the joint venture had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The act bars American businesses and individuals from bribing foreign officials. Ms. Gist said the company would cooperate with investigations by United States officials. Justice Department officials disclosed Wednesday that the department was reviewing documents voluntarily provided by Halliburton to determine whether to begin a full investigation. Halliburton, already under fire for what the Pentagon says are overcharges in contracts related to the war in Iraq, revealed the Justice Department request in a filing on Jan. 21 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Management made the decision to include these statements because of the politically charged environment in which we now operate," Ms. Gist said. "We are trying to keep the investment community informed of the accurate facts about the company's business." According to Halliburton's filing, the illegal payment allegations involve a joint venture of which K.B.R. was a 25 percent owner. The other partners were Technip of France, ENI of Italy and Japan Gasoline. The filing says the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are reviewing the allegations. The payments for the gas plant contract were said to have been made to Nigerian officials. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/07/international/africa/07NIGE.html?ex=1077361824&ei=1&en=bab6e0ecb3fc5fed --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here: http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.html HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2004 The New York Times CompanyFind great local high-speed Internet access value at the MSN High-Speed Marketplace. -------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
