Oops! Bribing Nigeria For Cheney’s Freedom Not Legal - EmptyWheel

[WillyT]

Oops! Bribing Nigeria for Cheney’s Freedom Not Legal
By: emptywheel Thursday December 30, 2010 6:12 am

<snip>

A lawyer in Nigeria has reminded the country’s anti-corruption watchdog that the recent deal buying Cheney’s freedom for $35 million is not legal.

In a letter to Nigeria’s anti-corruption watchdog, Osuagwu Ugochukwu, a prominent lawyer in Abuja, said the withdrawal of charges against Cheney was a breach of the law.

“We know as a point of law that once a criminal charge has been filed in a competent court, issue of penalty of fine is for the courts to impose and not parties,” he wrote. “Hence, we are shocked to hear that EFCC imposed a fine on an accused person. We also know as a point of law that criminal matters cannot be settled out of court as in civil matters in Nigeria.”

And a newspaper editorial makes the fairly obvious point that if corporations can keep buying the freedom of its executives, then those executives will never have an incentive to follow the law.

The risk of solving one criminal act through the plea bargain option amounts to a mere slap on the wrist and subtly telling the guilty firm and its personnel to “go and sin no more”. It does not paint a good image for Nigeria, especially in the world’s corrupt nations index where we are currently featuring notoriously.

We therefore condemn in strong terms this kind of under the table settlement. The same thing happened in the Siemens bribery scam, and this is making Nigeria look like a country where money can buy justice. More importantly, the Halliburton case questions the seriousness of government in holding corrupt foreign firms and their officials accountable for their action, while on the other hand encouraging and patronizing companies that have not only confessed corrupt practices, but are not known to respect wholesome business ethics.

Only a painstaking trial and possible conviction, if found guilty, would have forced Halliburton to change its corrupt ways of doing business in Nigeria.

<snip>

More: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/12/30/oops-bribing-nigeria-for-cheneys-freedom-not-legal/

:kick:

[dipsydoodle]

1. Never mind Nigeria

Was it legal to do so in the US ?

[The Blue Flower]

2. Bribes to end a bribery case

What happens when justice is turned into a joke?

[WillyT]

3. Welcome To Amerika

:shrug:

[BobTheSubgenius]

18. A few years ago, a court somewhere in the US ruled

that bribes are tax-deductible. Cheney trying to buy his way out of trouble in Nigeria comes as no surprise.

[DeSwiss]

4. It would seem that some Nigerians.....

...wish to eschew the American style of "bought and paid-for" government.

- Who knew???

K&R

[slipslidingaway]

5. knr nt

[Caretha]

6. Couldn't agreeing

to pay the bribe...err..I mean fine be construed as an admission of guilt?

[DCKit]

7. Great find WillyT!!!!

KBR and Halliburton are now going to have to pay a lot more to make this go away.

It also raises issues with the ongoing UN and (supposed) U.S. efforts to fight corruption/bribery regarding international business dealings.

[malaise]

8. $35 million?

$250 million. Cheney should be in chains.

[sabrina 1]

9. Glad to see this. Nigeria is supposed to be trying to clean up

the decades long corruption caused by bribery by huge Corps creating corruption in every part of their government. Indicting the Halliburton Execs was supposed to be part of that clean-up as promised by their new president.

It was beyond ironic to read that rather than refusing bribes in the middle of a huge investigation INTO bribery, Halliburton was able to bribe someone in government once again. It was almost comical if it wasn't so tragic.

I hope they return the bribe money and reinstate the arrest warrant for Cheney.

[flvegan]

10. And?

Anyone that thinks that this isn't conveniently going away, be it by hook or by crook, is simply mad.

I mean, this OP is great info and I really enjoy reading that there's a glimmer of hope that Cheney will see criminal charges (since our BS complicit Congress has maybe 3 spines amongst them), I just don't see it.

Thanks for posting a bit of hope for something...anything.

[felix_numinous]

11. I would so love to see Darth

being taken down by Nigeria. And please no one ruin my fantasy, I am having fun with it.

[rucky]

12. You mean you can't bribe your way out of bribery charges?

who knew?

[tomp]

13. money can never buy justice.

if money bought it, it ain't justice

[cbdo2007]

14. KBR and Halliburton actually pled guilty to these charges in the U.S. in this same scandal.

Here is from an LA Times blog on this:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2010/12/dick-cheney-nigeria.html

"Last year Halliburton and KBR pleaded guilty in a U.S. court of paying off the Nigerian officials more than $180 million in bribes when Cheney was chief executive of Haliburton and were fined a record $579 million under the Foreign Corrupt Practices act, and a top KBR executive, Albert "Jack" Stanley was sentenced to seven years in prison."

So it's useless for them to now pretend like nothing is going on and they did nothing wrong. They've already pled guilty to it.

[lobodons]

15. Too bad Cheney is on his death bed

Cheney will be dead before donning an orange wardrobe.

[KoKo]

16. Good Catch and Great Read!...eom

[Rex]

17. Is there a global force out there allowed to punish mega-conglomerates?

Didn't think so.

[MisterP]

19. arrest won't work on Cheney: you have to destroy all his horcruxes first nt