11 February 2009
Lagos — Houston-based KBR pleaded guilty yesterday to federal criminal charges alleging it paid millions of dollars in bribes to Nigerian officials to win contracts to build a massive natural gas project in the country.
The engineering giant and military contractor will pay $402 million in fines and spend three years under the watch of a court-appointed monitor, according to the plea agreement entered before US District Judge Keith Ellison.
KBR's former parent company, Halliburton, will pay most of the fine under terms of the two companies' separation almost two years ago. KBR General Counsel Andrew Farley entered the guilty plea on behalf of the company.
The five charges-one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and four counts of violating the act-stem from allegations of a decade-long scheme in which KBR, through intermediaries, paid more than $180 million in bribes to Nigerian officials to get contracts to build a $6 billion gas liquefaction plant on Nigeria's Bonny Island.
Gas liquefaction is the process of turning natural gas into a liquid so it can be transported on tankers.
In a statement yesterday, KBR Chairman and Chief Executive, William P. Utt, said the settlement of the criminal case and related Securities and Exchange Commission complaints "close both a regrettable and unfortunate chapter in KBR's rich and storied history." Utt said KBR cooperated with the government during the five-year investigation.
Last September, Albert "Jack" Stanley, a former chairman of the company previously called Kellogg Brown & Root, admitted he took part in the dealings. Stanley, of Houston, served as Kellogg Brown & Root's senior representative on a Madeira, Portugal-based consortium known as TSKJ, which was awarded four separate contracts for work on that complex.
Stanley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6.
Last month Halliburton said it planned to pay nearly $560 million to settle allegations related to the case.
Halliburton said yesterday it will pay $382 million of the KBR fine, and KBR will pay $20 million. Halliburton will pay an additional $177 to settle SEC complaints, without admitting or denying wrongdoing, the company said.
KBR's spinoff from Halliburton was completed in April 2007, with Halliburton agreeing to cover KBR "for certain contingent liabilities" related to any fines that come out of the case, according to filings by both companies.
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The name/s of those bribed thieves rightfully should be published, but we must realise that this corruption would have gone right to the very top because if you remember, the president was also the minister of petroleum for eight years. So who else would have been bribed other than oga? Infact, who had the power to 'make things happen' other than oga? Nothing will come of the investigation as we know that the EFCC is an instrument of state used to destroy those who do not want to play the game the way the corrupt leaders want. What was the result of us finding out that the oil blocks allocated by baba were not done on merit but wuruwuru? Nigerians are not ready. Until Nigerians begin to realise that it is 'they' (not the leaders) who are the real 'stakeholders' in the country nothing will change. We need to be ready to die for what is ours or nothing will change. You can talk until you are blue in the face.
Dear Readers , There is a climate in America and the financial world that secretly has been "cooking the books" while they rob us. For example most financial information that is reported only focuses on "The Budget ". A Budget is the amount of money we would need to run our household on a specific time schedule (e.g. weekly budget, monthly budget, yearly budget ). When the tell us they have a "Budget Deficit ", they are actually saying they don't have enough money for the specific period the Budget is supposed to cover. There is a more complete financial picture that many of us are kept from seeing. This picture is called " THE COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT ". People like WALTER BURIEN & ALEX JONES exposed the schemes that have been going on since 1945 in America alone !!! For more information do a search using " The Comprehensive Financial Report Exposed "..On YouTube Alex Jones & Walter Burien share a documentary that they did in the 1990s. [God Bless You Readers To Want To Know And Seek To Know The Truth]
Well the cat is let out of the bag now with court finding KBR guilty of bribery to secure 6billion US dollars contract in Nigeria.
The relevant question to ask as a fall out from the conviction is, who are those Nigerian officials that were bribed?
I believe the almighty EFCC and related bodies are monitoring the event and should act to bring the officials to book.
It is very imoportant to tell the world that we are not dishonest people and are ready to punish black sheep among us.