Dick Cheney to be Indicted in Nigerian Bribery Case
December 2nd, 2010
December 2nd, 2010
Before the end of the week, former United States Vice President Dick Cheney will be indicted by Nigerian officials in connection with the long-running bribery investigation into Halliburton Company. According to Bloomberg News:
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.
Furthermore:
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.
This is a huge development, and we’ll certainly be following it as it unfolds. More on the case is available here (Bloomberg), here (Reuters), and here (AFP).