Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Charges against Halliburton may be drop says EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said on Tuesday it may drop bribery charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and oil services firm Halliburton after the company offered to pay a fine.

The agency said it met with officials representing Mr Cheney and Halliburton in London last week after filing 16-count charges at a federal high court in Abuja in a case dating back to the mid-1990s.
Halliburton, which has said the Nigerian charges have no legal basis, could not immediately be reached to comment on the outcome of the meeting. But the EFCC spokesman Femi Babafemi said an offer had been made to pay fines totalling up to N20 billion.
"They have made offers of fines to be paid in penalties. They offered to pay $120 million in addition to the repatriation of $130 million trapped in Switzerland," Mr Babafemi said.
"It will need to be ratified by the government and we expect a decision by the end of the week," he said.

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