Nigeria drops Cheney graft charges

[eccentricyoruba]

Well, it was fun while it lasted; Nigeria drops Cheney graft charges
 

 

Nigeria has dropped charges against Dick Cheney, the former US vice-president, over bribery allegations involving the energy giant Halliburton after an out-of-court settlement was agreed.

Nigeria's anti-corruption watchdog, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said that the charges were dropped on Friday after Halliburton agreed to pay fines totalling up to $250 million over allegations it paid millions of dollars in bribes to Nigerian officials.

Halliburton, which has previously said the claims had no legal basis, confirmed that the charges had been dropped, but declined to give further comment on the case.

The EFCC said it received the settlement offer when it met with officials representing Cheney and Halliburton in London last week after 16-count charges were filed at a federal high court in Abuja.

Before charges were filed a Nigerian prosecutor had confirmed that negotiations were under way with companies allegedly linked to the scandal, raising the question of whether indictments might be used as leverage to secure payments from the companies.

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[la_vie_noire]

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