Former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney Faces Bribery Charges

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LAGOS, NIGERIA (GaeaTimes.com) — The U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and others connected to the energy services company Halliburton have been accused by Nigerian investigators of paying bribes to secure a lucrative natural gas project in the 1990s.

According to Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for the country’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Cheney accompanied by nine other names have been allegedly charged with offences that include “conspiracy and distribution of gratification to public officials.”

Attorney Terrence O’Connell said,

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, The Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission investigated that joint venture extensively and found no suggestion of any impropriety by Dick Cheney in his role of CEO of Halliburton.

Reportedly, this is the continuation of a long running case that involves bribes allegedly paid to Nigerian officials to secure $6 billion worth of contracts for a liquefied natural gas project in the Niger Delta. According to sources, the bribes amounted to $180 million between 1994 and 2004.