NIGERIA: Halliburton To Pay $35 Million To Settle Nigeria Bribery Charges
In a settlement for bribery
allegations related to the construction and expansion of its Bonny
Island natural-gas liquefaction facility, Halliburton Co. agreed to pay
$35 million to the Nigerian government Tue., reports the Wall Street Journal.
Former subsidiary KBR Inc. had a 25 percent stake in the facility.
The deal comes two weeks after the African country indicted nine
people and businesses, including Halliburton and its former chief
executive and U.S. vice president Dick Cheney for alleged bribery. A
spokesman for Nigeria's anti-graft agency told WSJ that the charges were
dropped Fri., after parties reached a settlement.
According to the deal, all lawsuits and charges against Halliburton,
KBR and the nine people, which include Cheney, were dropped, and the
Nigerian government agreed not to file further criminal or civil
charges.
Halliburton didn't address the details behind the charges in a press release.
Cheney's lawyer, Terrence O'Donnell, told WSJ that the charges against the former vice president were baseless.
The $35 million settlement includes $2.5 million to cover the
Nigerian government's legal fees and to help its effort to recover funds
frozen in a Swiss bank account from a former joint venture.
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