EFCC Files 16-count charge against ex-US VP Cheney

EFCC Boss

A 16-count charge has been filed against former United States Vice-President Dick Cheney at the Federal High Court in Abuja by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). 
Eight others were also charged to court over alleged conspiracy in the $132million Halliburton scam.
The others are Halliburton Incorporated, Halliburton Nigeria Limited; Kellogg, Brown and Root Incorporated (KBR); Richard “Dick” Cheney; Albert “Jack” Stanley; William Utt; David Lesar; TSKJ Nigeria Limited and TSKJ Consortium.
Cheney, immediate past Vice President of the United States, was the chief executive of Halliburton in the 1990s when the bribe was allegedly given.
A four-man legal team has been raised to prosecute the case on behalf of the Federal Government. It is made up of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. J. B. Daudu (SAN); E.C. Ukala (SAN); Damian D. Dodo (SAN); and Godwin Obla.
The bribery scandal involves the former Halliburton subsidiary, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) in respect of the nation’s Liquefied Natural Gas plant in Bonny.
One of the accused persons, Albert J. Stanley, admitted before a Houston, United States court on September 4, 2008 that he orchestrated more than $180million in bribe to senior government officials.

Stanley alleged that the bribe was channelled through a UK based lawyer, Mr. Jeffery Tessler, in four instalments of $60million; $32.5million; $51million and $23million.
The bribe was allegedly facilitated between 1995 and 2005 in London.
The countries where the bribe money was allegedly stashed by some top government officials and their accomplices are France, Britain, Switzerland, Portugal and Seychelles.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons are to face trial for felony, conspiracy, abetting of crime, and misdemeanour.
No date has been fixed for the formal arraignment of all the accused persons before the court.
But as at last night, it was learnt that the Federal Government is exploring diplomatic ties with the United States on how to handle the trial of Dick Cheney.
Some of  the charges are as follows: “That  you, (Cheney and eight others) sometimes between 1994 and 2005 conspired with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan to commit a felony to wit: giving the sum of $132million to one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), Wojciech J. Chodan (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment  Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Project in Nigeria (Bonny LNG) and thereby committed an offence under Section 96(1)(a) of the penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990 and punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990.
“That you (the accused persons) within the Abuja Judicial Division of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria sometime between 1994 and 2005 together with Snamprogetti Netherland B.V., Technip S.A., Japan Gasoline Corp of Japan committed a felony to wit: giving the sum of $132million to one Jeffery Tessler (now at large), Wojciech J. Chodan (now at large) and Tri-Star Investment  Limited for the purpose of gratification of public officials concerned with the award of Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Project in Nigeria(Bonny LNG) and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 118 of the Penal Code CAP LFN (Abuja) 1990.