Dick Cheney- Corporate Criminal

 
Nigeria Bars Halliburton Contracts After Theft

Reuters
Wednesday, September 22, 2004

ABUJA, Nigeria -- Nigeria said Monday it had banned the awarding of government contracts to Halliburton, the world's No. 2 oil services firm, following the theft of two radioactive devices from its Nigerian subsidiary.

The theft of the devices, used for X-raying cracks in oil pipelines and well-heads, had raised fears of a terror attack in Nigeria, the world's seventh-largest oil exporter.

"Mr. President has approved a ban on the award of contracts to the company by any ministry, parastatal, or agency of government until further directive on the matter," a statement from the presidency said.

German authorities intercepted the materials last year at a steel-recycling plant in Bavaria. They were reported missing by the local unit of Halliburton in December 2002.

Nigeria, which launched a probe in June to discover how the materials had ended up in Germany, said the U.S.-based firm had refused to cooperate.

Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy Gist in Houston would not comment except to say the company was working on the matter.

"Halliburton continues to work with the Nigerian government to resolve issues related to the sources in question," she said. "As the matter is continuing, we believe that further comment is not appropriate at this time."

The probe came after Germany halted its investigations and returned the radioactive materials to Halliburton, which took them back to the United States earlier this year.

Halliburton is already facing allegations of paying $180 million in kickbacks to win a contract in Nigeria in the 1990s.

The Nigerian National Assembly this month passed a motion recommending that Halliburton and its associate companies be excluded from new contracts and new business in Nigeria pending the outcome of the corruption probe.


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