http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/nigeria-issue-arrest-warrant-dick-cheney-bribery-case/
Nigeria to charge Dick Cheney in $180 million bribery case, issue Interpol arrest warrant
John Byrne
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010
The energy services company Dick Cheney ran prior to becoming Vice President of the United States was atop the tongue of liberals each time it was awarded a contract in Iraq.
Now the company's name, Halliburton, is being spoken somewhere else: Nigeria.
According to a story filed late Wednesday, Cheney will be indicted in a Nigerian bribery case as part of an investigation into an alleged $180 million bribery scandal.
"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," Bloomberg News' Elisha Bala-Gbogbo wrote.
"Authorities in the West African nation are probing Halliburton, Saipem and Technip for the alleged payment of $180 million in bribes to win a $6 billion liquefied natural-gas contract," Bala-Gbogbo added. "Panalpina is being investigated for illegal payments it allegedly made to Nigerian customs officials on behalf of Royal Dutch Shell Plc."
The prosecuting counsel for the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said that indictments will be handed down in the next three days and that an arrest warrant for Cheney "will be issued and transmitted through Interpol."
Adds Bloomberg, "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."
A spokesman for Cheney declined to comment.
The US Securities and Exchange Committee probe focused on the deal as early as 2004. Wrote The Washington Post at the time:
The Nigerian project, started in the early 1990s, was worth almost $5 billion to TSKJ, a partnership that included a KBR predecessor, as well as companies from France, Japan and the Netherlands.
At issue are payments made to Tristar, a Gibraltar company that had a consulting arrangement with a corporation formed by TSKJ to "administer the contracts and execute the work" in Nigeria, a Halliburton spokeswoman said in response to questions.
KBR, the engineering and construction subsidiary of Halliburton, was formed when Halliburton acquired Dresser Industries Inc. in 1998. It was a combination of Halliburton's Brown & Root and Dresser's M.W. Kellogg Co. Officials from the SEC and Cheney's office declined to comment.
Early on Thursday, Halliburton said they hadn't seen the new charges, but still denied their involvement.
"Halliburton's oil-field services operations in Nigeria have never in any way been part of the LNG project and none of the Halliburton employees have ever had any connection to or participation in that project," Tara Mullee Agard, a spokeswoman for the Houston-based company, said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg.
Added Bloomberg: "Halliburton Co., the world's second- largest oilfield-services provider, said it hasn't seen any amended charges by Nigerian authorities who plan to indict current and former employees in a bribery scandal."
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Nollywood Babylon
Thanks to Richard Metzger for the following
http://www3.nfb.ca/webextension/nollywood-babylon/
"Infectious"
Los Angeles Times
"Irresistible"
Film Threat
"Cheers to the filmmakers... for going beyond a look at Lagos as the Wild West of cinema to offer unexpected insights, not always sunny, into the economic and social forces that created... Nollywood."
IFC.com
"A fantastic Canadian documentary exploring the unknown side of the cinematographic planet"
Twitch
"A stand out doc!"
Playback
Nollywood Babylon is a feature documentary about the explosive popularity of Nigeria's movie industry.
The film drops viewers into the chaos of Lagos' Idumota market. Here, among the bustling stalls, films are sold and unlikely stars are born.
Unfazed by low budgets, enterprising filmmakers create a brash, inventive and wildly popular form of B-Movie that has Nigerians Nollywood-obsessed. In these films, voodoo and magic infuse urban stories, reflecting the collision of traditional mysticism and modern culture that Nigerians experience every day.
Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal, present an electric vision of a modern African metropolis and a revealing look at the powerhouse that is Nigerian cinema.
About The Filmmakers
Nollywood Babylon is Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal's third film.
They began their collaboration at the NFB in Montreal. Their first film, Discordia, screened at festivals and universities around the world. Hailed by The Globe and Mail as "the newest wave in documentary filmmaking", Discordia won a Gold award at the New York Festival and Best Socio-Political Documentary at the Columbus International Film Festival.
Mallal and Addelman's second feature, Bombay Calling, was nominated for a Gemini award for Best Socio-Political documentary. It won the Grand Jury prize at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and premiered at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto. Bombay Calling was also broadcast in over 150 countries on National Geographic International. In 2007, they launched AM Pictures.
http://www3.nfb.ca/webextension/nollywood-babylon/
"Infectious"
Los Angeles Times
"Irresistible"
Film Threat
"Cheers to the filmmakers... for going beyond a look at Lagos as the Wild West of cinema to offer unexpected insights, not always sunny, into the economic and social forces that created... Nollywood."
IFC.com
"A fantastic Canadian documentary exploring the unknown side of the cinematographic planet"
Twitch
"A stand out doc!"
Playback
Nollywood Babylon is a feature documentary about the explosive popularity of Nigeria's movie industry.
The film drops viewers into the chaos of Lagos' Idumota market. Here, among the bustling stalls, films are sold and unlikely stars are born.
Unfazed by low budgets, enterprising filmmakers create a brash, inventive and wildly popular form of B-Movie that has Nigerians Nollywood-obsessed. In these films, voodoo and magic infuse urban stories, reflecting the collision of traditional mysticism and modern culture that Nigerians experience every day.
Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal, present an electric vision of a modern African metropolis and a revealing look at the powerhouse that is Nigerian cinema.
About The Filmmakers
Nollywood Babylon is Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal's third film.
They began their collaboration at the NFB in Montreal. Their first film, Discordia, screened at festivals and universities around the world. Hailed by The Globe and Mail as "the newest wave in documentary filmmaking", Discordia won a Gold award at the New York Festival and Best Socio-Political Documentary at the Columbus International Film Festival.
Mallal and Addelman's second feature, Bombay Calling, was nominated for a Gemini award for Best Socio-Political documentary. It won the Grand Jury prize at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and premiered at the Hot Docs festival in Toronto. Bombay Calling was also broadcast in over 150 countries on National Geographic International. In 2007, they launched AM Pictures.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Gazprom plans Africa gas grab
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ac1749e6-bb13-11dc-9fbc-0000779fd2ac.html
Gazprom plans Africa gas grab
By Matthew Green in Abuja and Catherine Belton in Moscow
January 4 2008
Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy group, is seeking to win access to vast energy reserves in Nigeria in a move that will heighten concerns among western governments over its increasingly powerful grip on gas supplies to Europe.
A senior Nigerian oil industry official, who declined to be named, said the company was offering to invest in energy infrastructure in return for the chance to develop some of the biggest gas deposits in the world.
The Russian move is part of a courtship that saw Vladimir Putin writing to Nigeria’s leader, Umaru Yar’Adua, last year to seek energy co-operation.
Gazprom’s efforts are likely to cause concern among European governments anxious about their dependence on Russia for a quarter of gas imports. The country’s readiness to cut off supplies has alarmed EU governments.
“What Gazprom is proposing is mind-boggling,” the Nigerian oil official told the Financial Times. “They’re talking tough and saying the west has taken advantage of us in the last 50 years and they’re offering us a better deal ... They are ready to beat the Chinese, the Indians and the Americans.”
Gazprom representative Ilya Kochevrin confirmed the talks with Nigerian officials. “We made a decision to go global in terms of acquiring assets and developing strategy outside Russia. Africa is one of our priorities,” he said.
Any move by Gazprom to establish itself in Nigeria, long dominated by companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, would reinforce a global trend of state-backed energy companies challenging western rivals.
Although Nigeria is an important provider of liquefied natural gas to the US and Europe, western energy companies have historically focused on producing and selling oil from Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest producer of crude. However, demand has prompted plans for more facilities to cool natural gas into the liquid state, which makes it possible to ship to Europe and elsewhere.
The Nigerian official said Gazprom executives had visited Abuja in mid-December with a range of proposals to revamp the underperforming gas sector.
A Gazprom document, seen by the FT, says it can offer “strong technical expertise and financial resources”.
The Nigerian official said Gazprom was also competing with international banks to take over funding the government’s share of ventures with western oil companies, hoping to win gas exploration blocks and approvals to build LNG plants in return.
Gazprom plans Africa gas grab
By Matthew Green in Abuja and Catherine Belton in Moscow
January 4 2008
Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned energy group, is seeking to win access to vast energy reserves in Nigeria in a move that will heighten concerns among western governments over its increasingly powerful grip on gas supplies to Europe.
A senior Nigerian oil industry official, who declined to be named, said the company was offering to invest in energy infrastructure in return for the chance to develop some of the biggest gas deposits in the world.
The Russian move is part of a courtship that saw Vladimir Putin writing to Nigeria’s leader, Umaru Yar’Adua, last year to seek energy co-operation.
Gazprom’s efforts are likely to cause concern among European governments anxious about their dependence on Russia for a quarter of gas imports. The country’s readiness to cut off supplies has alarmed EU governments.
“What Gazprom is proposing is mind-boggling,” the Nigerian oil official told the Financial Times. “They’re talking tough and saying the west has taken advantage of us in the last 50 years and they’re offering us a better deal ... They are ready to beat the Chinese, the Indians and the Americans.”
Gazprom representative Ilya Kochevrin confirmed the talks with Nigerian officials. “We made a decision to go global in terms of acquiring assets and developing strategy outside Russia. Africa is one of our priorities,” he said.
Any move by Gazprom to establish itself in Nigeria, long dominated by companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, would reinforce a global trend of state-backed energy companies challenging western rivals.
Although Nigeria is an important provider of liquefied natural gas to the US and Europe, western energy companies have historically focused on producing and selling oil from Nigeria, which is Africa’s biggest producer of crude. However, demand has prompted plans for more facilities to cool natural gas into the liquid state, which makes it possible to ship to Europe and elsewhere.
The Nigerian official said Gazprom executives had visited Abuja in mid-December with a range of proposals to revamp the underperforming gas sector.
A Gazprom document, seen by the FT, says it can offer “strong technical expertise and financial resources”.
The Nigerian official said Gazprom was also competing with international banks to take over funding the government’s share of ventures with western oil companies, hoping to win gas exploration blocks and approvals to build LNG plants in return.
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