Nigeria to Charge Dick Cheney in Pipeline Bribery Case

[IScreamSundays]

Source: Bloomberg

Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria will file charges against former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and officials from five foreign companies including Halliburton Co. over a $180 million bribery scandal, a prosecutor at the anti-graft agency said.

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.

Peter Long, Cheney’s spokesman, said he couldn’t immediately comment when contacted today and said he would respond later to an e-mailed request for comment.

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.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-01/nigeria-to-charge-dick-cheney-in-pipeline-bribery-case.html

---

Not that anything will ever come of it...But I thought that it was noteworthy.

[polichick]

1. Glad somebody thinks Cheney should live by the rule of law! nt

[molly77]

12. When our leaders do not have to follow the law,

we are living in a totalitarian state.

[TheEuclideanOne]

55. Boy Obama is in trouble now.

When I see this story I think, wow this is where it all began with Obama. It was one of the first real significant failures to follow through on what he campaigned on. It was not a campaign promise, but he was a constitutional professor, so it was fair to expect it. "Look forward, not back" was what we all thought was the exception and not the rule. The reason that I think that Obama is in trouble is that now there are not too many days where something does not trigger a realization that he is not following through on people's expectations and playing the most ignorant political game imaginable. Such a bad place to be in for somebody who was held in high hopes by the entire world. It really makes you wonder what is the thought process that this guy is going through.

[proReality]

85. But what was he looking forward to?

Certainly no one in this administration was looking far enough forward to the future consequences of taking no action against admitted criminals.

[pattmarty]

60. It's just a shame it has to come from a "foreign" country.

[4_TN_TITANS]

66. And Nigeria, no less...

Not exactly a player with any muscle on the world stage.

[wordpix]

97. hey, their email scammers are the best in the world - just post on Craigslist

and you'll get all kinds of Nigerian scam artists in response. They are tops at creating ways to scam people out of their SSNs, phone nos., email addresses, bank acct. nos., etc.

[tanyev]

2. But they'll drop the charges if he sends them his bank account number.

[Voice for Peace]

17. lolol

[blondeatlast]

68. LOL! nt

[meow2u3]

80. They also might drop the charges if he arranges a marriage with his lesbian daughter

to a gay Nigerian man :evilgrin: You know how they treat gays there. :evilgrin:

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LawnKorn]

4. Whoot!

[LawnKorn]

5. K&R

[Mz Pip]

6. Good luck with that.

No way will Dickwad ever face a court of law, here, there or anywhere.

But I do appreciate the attempt for what it's worth.

[Matariki]

7. Wonder if he'll end up on Interpol's "most wanted".

ha ha.

[No Elephants]

14. Like Assange?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

8. I hope that he gets punished

[No Elephants]

15. Maybe. If there's an afterlife. But no one's going to force him to go to Nigeria or try him here.

If we made that Spanish judge who wanted to charge him shut up and sit down, we can do the same to Nigeria. Pffft. Nigeria isn't even European.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

33. I'm sure the cables are flying - about how "irritated" this makes the Obama administration.

[midnight]

71. Never saw this hat worn better....

[icnorth]

88. Hat?? I 'm losing touch...

looks like an ice pack for his ego.

[meow2u3]

79. If Cheney isn't going to be punished in this life

He will be roasting in Hell. He doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself and his ill-gotten $$$$$$.

[wordpix]

98. that's a great photo! LMAO

:rofl: Takes me back a couple of yrs....

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Speaking of pipelines, how's Dick's new plumbing set-up doing?

any big obstructions or potential blowouts yet?

[Newsjock]

10. Nigeria has an extradition treaty with the USA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_extradition_treaties

Date signed: December 22, 1931
Entered into force: June 24, 1935
Citation: 47 Stat. 2122

[No Elephants]

27. I bet Spain does, too. But the US has more juice than either of them and uses it.

[wordpix]

99. If Hillary has any sense, she'll send Dick on a foreign tour

[Overseas]

11. K&R ! //nt

[UpInArms]

13. it's about time someone decided the law applies everywhere and to everyone

:kick:

[mopinko]

16. be still my heart. np

[No Elephants]

29. Dick Cheney, is that you?

[sarcasmo]

18. If Dick wants to go to Nigeria I will pay for his one way ticket.

[defendandprotect]

19. k&r

[Sonoman]

20. They will have to work upwards through the layers of deniability.

By the time they get to cheney, he will have been dead for years.

If KBR or Halliburton ever pay fines, it is because paying is more expedient than dragging it out.

That's the way they work. Deny, tuck and run.

Sonoman

[dddem]

21. Who says there's no such thing as Santa Claus?

News like this warms the cockles of my heart. (what are cockles, anyway?)

[No Elephants]

30. Probably more like Fitzmas. Please see Reply 16.

[Kali]

22. dick cheney

the ORIGINAL 419 scam

[pam4water]

23. How corrupt do you have to be to get charged in Nigeria? LOL N/T

[madmax]

34. gmta

:rofl: I don't care where he's brought to Justice as long as he is, but that will never happen. Too bad :(

[stevedeshazer]

42. My first thought, too.

:)

[TxVietVet]

24. The POS cheney will die

before they haul his sick ass to any court. Same with the crackhead bu$h.

[Lucky 13]

25. Don't worry. I'm sure Obama will pressure them to drop the case.

Just like he pressured Spain to drop the inquiry on torture.

[Bluebear]

45. +

[frylock]

94. bank it

[thelordofhell]

26. Thank you to the Nigerian Elliot Ness

We can't get Cheney's murdering bastard ass on war crimes, so we charge him with bribery. Too bad this ghoul will be dead in 5 months.

:applause:

[OnyxCollie]

28. K&R. nt

[Amonester]

31. If JUST one ('un-touchable...') Iraqi judge could follow Obla's example...

and do that war criminal 'Justice' ...

[Turborama]

32. Kick & 50th recommendation, hopefully there'll be 10x more.

I hope you're wrong and Interpol do what they're paid to do.

[Kind of Blue]

35. Well, here's one more!

KnR

[NYMdaveNYI]

36. YES!!!!!!

[naaman fletcher]

37. The real scandal

The real scandal here is at the end of the story. Large companies bribe all they want and get out of it by paying large fines. If a guy was importing say a few million dollars of construction equipment and paid some bribes he would go to jail. This country is rules by the large corporations.

[Mosaic]

38. Justice is overdue

Good on Nigeria, good on whoever gets America to stop the killing.

[NYMdaveNYI]

44. +1

[aggiesal]

39. But, but ...

I keep getting emails from Nigerians that I suppose
to receive millions of $$$'s.

Maybe The DICK stole it all.

[jberryhill]

40. So THAT'S where my inheritance money went!

Dick Cheney owes me 10 million dollars that's being held up in a confidential risky free modality.

[Guilded Lilly]

41. A whole lot less than he deserves, but it feels great reading the words....

an arrest warrant for Cheney.

[myrna minx]

43. K&R n/t

[Canuckistanian]

46. Greetings, Mr. Cheney. I hope all is well with you.

I represent the Nigerian government on a matter that might be of benefit to both of us....

Your ass, as they say in America, is mine.

Yours in God,
President Olusegun Obasanjo.

P.S. Thanks for the many funds you sent our way. Unfortunately, you signed the checks using your own name. Most regrettable.

[tomm2thumbs]

47. I wonder if Nigeria has bounty hunters and is offering a reward to its citizens to bring him in

[bjvom]

76. Cheney on the run

You mean, like African Wild Dog the Bounty Hunter?

[tomm2thumbs]

101. probably a new show in the works to follow Palin's Alaska - shhh, on the QT

[Gamey]

48. Meanwhile & obscured, Dem leaders reach across the aisle...

...in support of totalitarian fascist unity.

[MrMickeysMom]

49. Let the "undead" eat yellow cake!

I think it would improve his prospects of getting a circulatory system. Then, feel free to indict the war criminal. Finally, they should impale the bastard, trans-thoracic would be a good method with this guy.

Oh, and let Julian Assange look on.

[AllyCat]

50. Well, we won't do anything to promote legality, but Nigeria will pick up the slack.

[47of74]

51. I'm not holding my breath waiting for anything to come of this...

...but DAMN. It feels so good to read that headline. With the crappy month we've been having since election day, it feels good seeing someone having enough of a steel set to charge that son of a bitch with a crime.

[lobodons]

52. Too bad Cheney will be dead within months

Cheney is on his death bed. Too bad. I sure would have loved to see him wear orange!!

[mbperrin]

53. Got to love it!

Please let something actually happen here.

[Cobalt-60]

54. Cheney in a Nigerian Prison. Attractive thought.

They'd show Mr Boorman Cheney some real enhanced interrogation.

[tclambert]

56. Let's not jump to the conclusion that Cheney is GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!

Though we all know he is.

By the way, how did it happen that the Nigerian justice system may be more honest than the American justice system?

[Demstud]

61. Right

The question is if they have enough evidence to convict in a fair trial... and do we even extradite to Nigeria?

[valerief]

78. I think they may just be holding out their palm publicly. nt

[democrank]

57. What awful news.

This just isn`t going to sit well with President Obama. His red, white and blue blinders only allow him to "look forward not backward" when it comes to the war criminal Cheney.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

58. Another place he can't go. I love it. :)

[paparush]

59. THIS is where Obama could find leverage against the Teapublicans..

You wanna hold govt hostage over the goddamn tax cuts, fine, we're prosecuting every fucking member of the Bush Junta.

[Solly Mack]

62. k/r

[RoccoR5955]

63. FROG MARCH! FROG MARCH! FROG MARCH!

I wanna see this bass turd in JAIL! Nigera would do fine!

[frogmarch]

96. I second that.

I'd like to see him jail too, and Nigeria would work just fine!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

64. No fan of Cheney but

I find it somewhat odd a country pretty much known for its corruption is pursuing him.

[dotymed]

65. At least someone is trying

to hold him accountable. If America was really a "nation of laws", Cheney and the Bush conspirators would have been arrested long ago. Hopefully, this will start the ball rolling.
I don't have much faith, but hopefully.

[harmonikaS]

67. Please hurry

do this before he dies.

[Jefferson23]

69. Don't worry Cheney, the Democrats in the WH will likely watch your back....again. n/t

[avaistheone1]

83. +1000

Fucking sad, but likely true. :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Ishoutandscream2]

70. Cheney would be wise to never set foot outside the country

Well, maybe with the exception of some "friendly" arab nations.

[Trajan]

72. Nigeria is a cesspool of corruption ...

Cheney would feel quite at home there ...

They are just workin him for more bribes ....

[Independent_Liberal]

73. K&R!

But once again, here come the naysayers, trying to kill all good news. "No, nothing's going to happen. Nothing's going to happen." They've gotten so accustomed to bad news, that anytime good news comes along, they say, "No, it's a mistake. Good things can't happen."

Better yet, why don't we just embrace this for the good people are trying to do?

Just my two cents.

Peace,
IL
:patriot:

[peace13]

74. Music to my ears! n/t

[gibby2433]

75. Guess he'll have to put his Nigerian winter home up for sale? ;p nt

[valerief]

77. So is Cheney behind the Nigerian prince email scams???? nt

[GreenStormCloud]

81. Sounds like Cheney didn't pay a big enough bribe, or left some one out. N/T

[Joe Chi Minh]

82. Is the US going to withdraw from Interpol? It gets weirder and weirder.

[alp227]

84. Did the charges come in the form of an email asking for a wire transfer?

in case you don't know what i mean look up "advance-fee fraud" on wikipedia; it's commonly known as the 419 scam. It's not an American issue as the oil execs have been improperly paying the Nigerians: "Last week, Nigeria arrested at least 23 officials from companies including Halliburton, Saipem, Technip and a former subsidiary of Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG in connection with alleged illegal payments to Nigerian officials. Those detained were all freed on bail on Nov. 29."

[crazyjoe]

86. Well, I bet Bush and Cheney gets a big laugh every time some third world country

issues an arrest warrant on them

[florida08]

87. this is encouraging

Last week, Nigeria arrested at least 23 officials from companies including Halliburton, Saipem, Technip and a former subsidiary of Panalpina Welttransport Holding AG in connection with alleged illegal payments to Nigerian officials. Those detained were all freed on bail on Nov. 29

Haliburton and KBR should have been indicted a long time ago but we don't enforce our laws here.

[Dappleganger]

89. My head is spinning...

or is this the floor?

[PatrynXX]

90. so will he be put on a most wanted list?? n/t

[katty]

91. Great, somebody BEGIN to charge this criminal!

[shanti2]

92. This is wonderful....

I am going to sit and imagine him rotting in a Nigerian prison....OH JOY!!!!!

[Old Troop]

93. I think they're just angry that he never answered the e-mail

offering him 40 million dollars if he just provided a little information.

[marasinghe]

95. ha! maybe just the irony will get that evil fuck cheney in the thing he's got for a heart.

here's hoping ~
:toast:
:evilgrin:

[wordpix]

100. this is encouraging: "KBR and Halliburton agreed to pay $579 million in Feb 09 for bribery payments"

snip: KBR and Halliburton agreed to pay $579 million in February 2009 for bribery payments in Nigeria that stretched from 1994 to 2004.

‘All Potential Claims’

Technip took a charge of 245 million euros ($342 million) related to its stake in TSJK and discussed “resolution of all potential claims” with the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Paris-based company said on Feb. 12. TSJK was a group of international companies comprising Technip, Snamprogetti SpA, a unit of Eni, KBR and JGC Corp. of Japan.

Panalpina, Royal Dutch Shell and five oil-services companies agreed to pay $236.5 million to resolve a U.S. probe of overseas bribery, the Justice Department said on Nov. 4. The bribes were paid to expedite the import of goods and equipment, avoid customs duties on imported goods, extend drilling contracts and lower tax assessments, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. snip

Oil companies having to pay a pittance for bribery is better than nothing. :eyes: At least our DOJ is starting to get in gear