Halliburton 'backed' bribes probe agent

[emad]

Financial Times snip:

Halliburton intervened with its partners in a huge Nigerian gas venture to secure the reappointment of a business agent now at the centre of an international bribery inquiry, a French judge has been told.

Evidence before the judge suggests that in 1999 - while US Vice-President Dick Cheney was Halliburton chief executive - a Halliburton subsidiary overrode its partners' objections to rehiring a British lawyer who, it has since been alleged, channelled payments to Nigerian officials and corporate executives. The evidence comes from a summary of the case obtained by the Financial Times along with a partial record of an interview by the judge of Jeffrey Tesler, the London-based lawyer.

Halliburton, the US oil services company, has long denied breaking US laws banning foreign bribery. It admitted this month finding notes that showed executives in the joint venture had discussed bribing Nigerian officials "at least 10 years ago". But it said there was no evidence bribes were paid and emphasised that the talks had largely pre-dated its own involvement in the venture, called TSKJ.

Halliburton entered the consortium only in 1998, when it took over Dresser Industries and its M.W. Kellogg unit, which owned a 25 per cent share in TSKJ. Nevertheless, the French papers contain claims that Kellogg actively pushed for Mr Tesler's continued role as agent even after the Halliburton takeover. It raises questions over what Mr Cheney knew - or should have known - about one of the largest contracts awarded to a Halliburton subsidiary.
More:
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f066d6a4-081d-11d9-9d00-00000e2511c8.html

[Catfight]

1. Nothing illegal and evil to see here, move along. n/t