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Politics : WHO IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2004 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (1975)	5/9/2003 11:56:32 AM
From: jackhach	Respond to of 10965

CHENEY UNDER SCRUTINY Dow Jones, Reuters Halliburton Bribe Paid To Nigerian Tax Official A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP HOUSTON -- A subsidiary of Halliburton Co. paid a Nigerian tax official $2.4 million in bribes to get favorable tax treatment, the company disclosed in a federal filing. In a filing made Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the oilfield-services company said its KBR engineering and construction company unit "made improper payments of approximately $2.4 million to an entity owned by a Nigerian national who held himself out as a tax consultant, when in fact he was an employee of a local tax authority." The filing stated that the payments were found during a routine audit and that several employees were fired as a result. Halliburton, which was formerly run by Vice President Richard Cheney, said it was cooperating with the SEC in its review, and added that none of the Houston company's senior officers were involved. A company spokeswoman told the Houston Chronicle for its Friday editions that the bribes were paid between 2001 and 2002. Company officials are trying to determine how much it owes Nigeria in back taxes. It could be as much as $5 million, according to the filing. Mr. Cheney led the company until August 2000, and the connection has been a source of continuing controversy. The Bush administration on Wednesday denied that there was any connection between Mr. Cheney's former role in running the company and a $76.7 million no-bid contract with the U.S. government to extinguish Iraqi oil-well fires and help restart Iraq's oil industry. Just before the war in Iraq started, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Halliburton a contract for emergency postwar repairs without competitive bids. That contract was intended to cover initial oil fires, damage assessments and other needs. Though it was authorized for as much as $7 billion to cover a worst-case scenario, the Corps now estimates that it will total about $600 million. Halliburton won the contract without competitive bidding because of urgent time constraints, the Corps has said. But critics have suggested political favoritism due to Mr. Cheney's position as CEO of Halliburton until the presidential race of 2000. In Nigeria, Halliburton is constructing a liquefied natural-gas plant. It also has developing an offshore oil and gas facility. Updated May 9, 2003 10:58 a.m