Templar
12-17-2010, 07:19 AM
EFCC promises hell for culprits of $420m oil bribery scam
Stories by Adeola Yusuf,
Correspondent, Lagos
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has promised to let hell loose on culprits in the $420 million bribery scam in the Nigeria’s oil industry.
The commission had last week summoned the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Shell Petroleum and Halliburton over their alleged involvement in the scam and Femi Babafemi, EFCC’s spokesperson disclosed that their invitation was in connection of their firms’ complicity in the distribution of $180 million and $240 million bribe funds respectively.
He confirmed that operatives of the anti-graft agency had penultimate week raided the two companies where about 21 of their expatriate and Nigerian top officials were arrested.
Though these officials were granted administrative bail, their travel documents were seized.
Investigation by Daily Independent showed that while the Halliburton, Technip and Saipem officials are being probed over a $180 million bribe scam, Shell and Panalpina officials are being grilled over the alleged complicity of their companies in the sharing of $240 million bribe to some officials in Nigeria, Angola, Libya and other countries between 2001 and 2006.
The Chief Executives of the suspected oil companies were grilled for hours at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja last Tuesday.
“The agency has constitutional responsibility of probing the scam. We would do this without fear or favour and who so ever that is found wanting would be charged to Court for proper prosecution,” the spokesperson said.
The formal letters of invitation for the two CEOs to appear at the EFCC’s head office in Abuja were earlier sent to the Nigerian head offices of the two companies in Lagos last Monday.
Apart from the invited CEOs billed to appear today, the MDs of Technip and Saipem, both of who are linked to the Halliburton bribe scam also reported in the Abuja office of the EFCC besides four other expatriate officials of Panalpina and two from Halliburton.
Beside this, eight Nigerian officials of Halliburton as well as seven of their counterparts in Panalpina also faced EFCC interrogators at the commission’s office in Lagos.
When contacted on the invitations to the companies’ officials, EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, said the summons were part of on-going investigations of the bribery scams.
He promised that the commission would conduct a thorough investigation after which it would prosecute the suspects.
Source: http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=24972
Stories by Adeola Yusuf,
Correspondent, Lagos
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has promised to let hell loose on culprits in the $420 million bribery scam in the Nigeria’s oil industry.
The commission had last week summoned the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Shell Petroleum and Halliburton over their alleged involvement in the scam and Femi Babafemi, EFCC’s spokesperson disclosed that their invitation was in connection of their firms’ complicity in the distribution of $180 million and $240 million bribe funds respectively.
He confirmed that operatives of the anti-graft agency had penultimate week raided the two companies where about 21 of their expatriate and Nigerian top officials were arrested.
Though these officials were granted administrative bail, their travel documents were seized.
Investigation by Daily Independent showed that while the Halliburton, Technip and Saipem officials are being probed over a $180 million bribe scam, Shell and Panalpina officials are being grilled over the alleged complicity of their companies in the sharing of $240 million bribe to some officials in Nigeria, Angola, Libya and other countries between 2001 and 2006.
The Chief Executives of the suspected oil companies were grilled for hours at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja last Tuesday.
“The agency has constitutional responsibility of probing the scam. We would do this without fear or favour and who so ever that is found wanting would be charged to Court for proper prosecution,” the spokesperson said.
The formal letters of invitation for the two CEOs to appear at the EFCC’s head office in Abuja were earlier sent to the Nigerian head offices of the two companies in Lagos last Monday.
Apart from the invited CEOs billed to appear today, the MDs of Technip and Saipem, both of who are linked to the Halliburton bribe scam also reported in the Abuja office of the EFCC besides four other expatriate officials of Panalpina and two from Halliburton.
Beside this, eight Nigerian officials of Halliburton as well as seven of their counterparts in Panalpina also faced EFCC interrogators at the commission’s office in Lagos.
When contacted on the invitations to the companies’ officials, EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Femi Babafemi, said the summons were part of on-going investigations of the bribery scams.
He promised that the commission would conduct a thorough investigation after which it would prosecute the suspects.
Source: http://www.independentngonline.com/DailyIndependent/Article.aspx?id=24972