From Guardian:
Nigeria‘s anti-corruption police said today that they will charge former US vice-president Dick Cheney over a $180m bribery case involving energy firm Halliburton.The announcement follows a probe into the construction of a liquefied natural gas plant in the conflict-ridden Niger Delta.
Halliburton’s top official in Nigeria has been summoned and 10 of its Nigerian and expat staff detained for questioning after a raid on the company’s office in Lagos. Cheney was head of Halliburton before becoming George W Bush’s vice-president in 2001.
From the BBC:
Agency spokesman Femi Babafemi said that the charges were likely to be brought next week.
The case involves engineering firm KBR, which has admitted bribing officials.
Mr Cheney was Halliburton’s chief executive before becoming vice-president to George W Bush in 2001.
Mr Babafemi said the charges were “not unconnected to his role as the chief executive of Halliburton”.
KBR last year pleaded guilty to paying $180m (£115m) in bribes to Nigerian officials prior to 2007, when it was a subsidiary of Halliburton. The firm agreed to pay $579m (£372m)in fines related to the case in the US.
But Nigeria, along with France and Switzerland, has conducted its own investigations into the case.
Elizabeth Dickinson of FP writes:
Nigeria might sound like an odd place for this to be coming from, but the country’s anti-corruption commission actually has quite the record of competance in breaking corporate and government scandals. So if you were wondering, this is “for real.”
This looks like a really good one to follow. Stay tuned.