Nigeria to Charge Dick Cheney in Pipeline Bribery Case
December 2nd, 2010Via: Bloomberg:
Nigeria will file charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and officials from five foreign companies including Halliburton Co. over a $180 million bribery scandal, a prosecutor at the anti-graft agency said.
Indictments will be lodged in a Nigerian court “in the next three days,” Godwin Obla, prosecuting counsel at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said in an interview today at his office in Abuja, the capital. An arrest warrant for Cheney “will be issued and transmitted through Interpol,” the world’s biggest international police organization, he said.
Peter Long, Cheney’s spokesman, said he couldn’t immediately comment when contacted today and said he would respond later to an e-mailed request for comment.
Obla said charges will be filed against current and former chief executive officers of Halliburton, including Cheney, who was CEO from 1995 to 2000, and its former unit KBR Inc., based in Houston, Texas; Technip SA, Europe’s second-largest oilfield- services provider; Eni SpA, Italy’s biggest oil company; and Saipem Construction Co., a unit of Eni. Obla didn’t identify the former officials whom he said held office when the alleged bribes were paid.
I laughed out loud when I read this…the most corrupt country in the world, next to the US, charges Cheney for bribing their government…as if he will ever be in the area and get served with a warrant…haha!
They’ll email the warrant. It’ll read something like this:
Dear Honourable Mr. Cheney,
Having an extensive meeting this very day, our partners have decided that due to the end of financial year deadline we should pursue this incident with extra zeal and speed. We therefore propose that we achieve a successful conclusion that will be of mutual benefit to both parties.
Accordingly you are required to send to us immediately your particulars. These banking details will be used by us to carefully prepare and present a claim of only $47 million if our business can be concluded before January 1st, 2011. If not, the full amount of $180.3 million will be payable to us and we will enforce collection. Proper documentations will be ensured by us to reflect the transction as an official payment for a complete and confirmed conclusion to this case.
This office therefore instructs you to immediately despatch without any further delay your bank information in order for this office to update your records in your file towards releasing you from your obligation to pay in full $180.3 million.
Please do not forget:
1) You are required to submit all of your bank particulars and contract particulars in order not to do mistake.
2) You are advise not to contact any other office than this office due to the problems encountered by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
3) Due to the coming of the Audit Committee very soon to Nigeria you are herey advise to speeden your every movements regarding your payment of $47 million by the fastly coming deadline.
4) No extra fees or taxes to be paid to us because all have been deducted from the total sum.
I hereby expect your immediate attention and response towards this very generous offer to you from this office.
Thanking you,
Alhahi Rashid,
Central Bank of Nigeria.
N/B: You should call me immediately on receipt of this message, so that we can very much speed up the passage of this concern.
Wouldn’t it just be rich if someone bundled him off to Nigeria by means of some privately executed rendition.
Maybe we ought to look into the legality of taking up a collection to hire “Dog” the bounty hunter to stalk, capture, and deport the criminal to Nigeria, live on a webcast.