$500 Million to Keep Cheney Out of Nigerian Prison?

December 10th, 2010

I keep thinking that someone is taking the piss out of all of us with this one, but…

Via: Global Post:

Halliburton is planning to make a plea bargain in former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney’s corruption case, Nigerian officials told GlobalPost.

Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency charged Cheney as the head of Halliburton when its engineering subsidiary, KBR, allegedly paid bribes totaling $180 million to secure contracts worth $6 billion.

KBR has admitted to bribing officials. Last year the company pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to paying the bribes to Nigerian officials prior to 2007, when it was a subsidiary of Halliburton. KBR, which is now independent from Halliburton, agreed to pay $597 million in fines, according to the Associated Press.

Cheney’s lawyer dismissed the new Nigerian charges as “entirely baseless.”

However, Halliburton is in talks with Nigerian officials to make a plea bargain in the case, said Femi Babafemi, spokesman for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the agency which has pressed the charges against Cheney.

“The companies are asking for a plea bargain, we are reviewing their request, we are talking with them, but we have not gone far with the talks yet,” Babafemi told GlobalPost.

Although Babafemi did not give further details, other sources within the agency said the plea bargain might involve a $500 million settlement.

Babafemi did not confirm whether the anti-corruption agency will ultimately settle for a plea bargain. But similar deals have been reached with other foreign multinational companies that have recently been charged with corruption in Nigeria.

2 Responses to “$500 Million to Keep Cheney Out of Nigerian Prison?”

  1. Eileen says:

    Interesting, sounds like Nigeria is now going to accept another bribe from Haliburton’s law team to not take Dick Cheney to the witness stand?
    Snort.
    Where was Nigeria when Dick Cheney managed to keep the his energy meetings out of the press, away from the U.S. GAO, and the Supreme Court?
    Double Snort.
    By now I think Dick Cheney is on life support. Caretaking for 10 years does that to a person. You can read the signs. Too many hospital visits.
    So Nigeria, you will be accused of being a criminal for attacking Dick Cheney on his death bed.
    Just watch the headlines. Its coming.

  2. Eileen says:

    I wanted to add that I mean no ill will to Dick. There’s nothing I can do about what he’s chosen to do in this lifetime. He’ll be alright, I guess.
    According to the “Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” he’ll be wandering around in Bardo (I think that’s the Catholic Death Purgatory) and he won’t be a happy camper. He’ll need our prayer’s to go AWAY.

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