afrol News, 12 February - The Kellogg Brown & Root LLC (KBR Ink) has pleaded guilty to the federal charges that the company bribed Nigerian officials to win contracts. As part of the plea agreement, KBR agreed to pay a $402 million criminal fine.

The US Department of Justice accused the Houston-based engineering company of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its participation in a decade-long scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.

KBR addmited to guilt for conspiring with its joint-venture partners and others to pay off officials in order to secure more than US $6 billion in engineering, procurement and construction contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria.

KBR also pleaded guilty to four counts of violating the FCPA related to the joint venture's payment of tens of millions of dollars in "consulting fees" to two agents for use in bribing Nigerian government officials.

The company also admitted that, before the award of the EPC contracts, KBR's former CEO, Albert "Jack" Stanley, met with three successive former holders of top-level office to negotiate bribes to Nigerian government officials.

"The guilty plea by KBR ends one chapter in the Department's long-running investigation of corruption in the award of $6 billion in construction contracts in Nigeria. This bribery scheme involved both senior foreign government officials and KBR corporate executives who took actions to insulate themselves from the reach of US law enforcement," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division.

The bribes took place over a decade, between 1994 and 2004. During part of that time, KBR’s parent company, Halliburton was headed by Dick Cheney, who stepped down as CEO in 2000 to become Vice President of the United States.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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