Dick Cheney Nigeria Bribery Charges Could Be Dropped For Fine

[The Lawspeaker]

Dick Cheney Nigeria Bribery Charges Could Be Dropped For Fine

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has been charged with bribery by Nigeria's anti-corruption agency, may avoid the charges if Halliburton instead pays a hefty fine, reports Reuters. Nigeria is considering a deal in which the energy company would pay $250 million in lieu of prosecution.

Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for the anti-corruption agency, said that the sum would include $130 million frozen in Switzerland, with the rest paid in fines, reports Reuters.

In order for the deal to move forward, it must be approved by Nigeria's government. Global Post reported earlier that both sides were considering a plea bargain, with estimates originally running as high as $500 million. Without the deal, Cheney and other executives could face "sentences of three years in a Nigerian prison if convicted of the charges in the 16-count indictment."

The charges stem from an alleged bribery case concerning up to $180 million paid in bribes to Nigerian officials. According to the AP, Halliburton allegedly paid the bribes to win $6 billion worth of contracts in the oil producing West African nation. Cheney was CEO of the company during the time of the alleged bribery.

KBR, a former subsidiary of Halliburton, resolved its own Nigerian bribery charges by paying a fine. The AP reports:

The Halliburton case involves its former subsidiary KBR, a major engineering and construction services firm based in Houston. In February 2009, KBR Inc. pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to authorizing and paying bribes from 1995 to 2004 for the plant contracts in Nigeria.

KBR, which split from Halliburton in 2007, agreed to pay more than $400 million in fines in the plea deal.

Cheney's lawyer has said there is no reason for the charges. According to CNN: Cheney's atttorney has said that there is no reason to suspect that his client is guilty.

"This matter involves the activities of an international four-company joint venture (which included KBR, then a subsidiary of Halliburton) well over a decade ago," Terrence O'Connell said.

Source: Huffington Post (14 December 2010)

For short: he may be allowed to bribe his way out of bribery charges.

[Austin]

Being a politician in a first world country means you get to have financial perks from third world countries who's systems are corrupt and who's govt. you influence. European diplomats are no exception. None of these guys are angels so I almost have to wonder how any person could really be surprised that some Western politician is getting kickbacks or that their company is in some way, it is the nature of power anywhere and everywhere.

Bribery in the third world is the norm not the exception and I don't care all that much about it nor should anyone who understands that you don't do a transaction in much of the world without a bribe. The West is an exception to that rule. If you get a contract in China/Africa/East Europe you just know ahead of time that you will be footing bribe money as well (if you haven't already).

Putin and FIFA could I'm sure attest to this as well as South Africa....

The good thing about third-second world corruption realities are that a savvy Westerner can make a killing by essentially doing nothing and engaging in corruption with said nations corrupt leadership and business factions. Corruption makes a lot of Westerners in big houses with nice cars very wealthy so I honestly do not care about it at all. Just keep it out of the West.