Sobornos Petroleros

World Oil.

February 2009.

Krista H. Kuhl, Technical Editor.

Halliburton to pay $559 million in bribery investigation

US oilfield services company Halliburton will pay a $559 million fine to end an investigation of its former KBR unit, if the US government approves the settlement. It is the largest penalty against a US company for charges of bribery under federal law. Halliburton said it was awaiting final approval from the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle claims that KBR violated anti-bribery laws by paying kickbacks to Nigerian officials. Under the settlement, Halliburton would pay $382 million to the US Department of Justice and $177 mil­lion to the SEC in "disgorgement." Halliburton is being charged under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Under the FCPA, it is illegal for US companies or their agents to use bribes to win foreign business. In April 2007, oilfield services company Baker Hughes reached a $44.1 million settlement with US officials related to a bribery probe of its operations in Nigeria, Angola and Kazakhstan. In December, German engineering conglomerate Siemens paid $800 million to US officials to settle claims that it violated the FCPA. The US government's probe of Halliburton related to construction and expansion of a gas liquefaction facility at Bonny Island in Rivers State, Nigeria, and other projects dating back as much as 20 years. In July, Halliburton said it had "reason to believe" payments may have been made to Nigerian officials by agents of its TSKJ consortium, which built the Bonny Island facility. The TSKJ consortium includes France´s Technip, Italy's Snamprogetti and Japan's JGC Corp. Albert Stanley, a former KBR chief executive officer, pleaded guilty in September to charges stemming from a scheme to pay $ 180 million in bribes to Nigerian government officials for work on the Bonny Island LNG plant. As part of the settlement, Halliburton said it would not be required to have a monitor, but the company would have to retain an independent consultant to assess its compliance with anti-bribery laws.

Interesante pregunta del Ing. Francisco Garaicochea: Halliburton, Siemens, Baker Hughes, Technip, Snamprogetti y JGC, son compañías transnacionales que proporcionan productos y servicios a Pemex. ¿Aquí, no practican el soborno?