Mobil, CIA Secrets May Come Out in Bribery Trial of Oil Adviser

[truthpusher]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a_jX.m5mrYFA

Mobil, CIA Secrets May Come Out in Bribery Trial of Oil Adviser
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Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) --

(snip)

Now, federal prosecutors say Giffen, 64, cemented his power by bribing Kazakh leaders with $84 million that Amoco Corp., Mobil Oil Co., Phillips Petroleum Co. and Texaco Inc. paid to win access to Kazakh fields. In January, Giffen goes on trial in federal district court in New York in one of the largest overseas criminal bribery cases ever.

(snip)

As part of the deal, Mobil agreed to pay an extra $41 million in fees to Giffen's bank, prosecutors say. From the $41 million, Giffen routed $2 million into an account, in the name of Alqi Holdings Ltd., which was established for Williams, prosecutors say.

(snip)

``You can't work in Kazakhstan without paying bribes,'' says former CIA officer Robert Baer, who was stationed in Central Asia in the mid-1990s. ``It's that kind of Wild West. Everyone was doing it.''

(snip)

Baer, whose book criticizes CIA anti-terrorism efforts, says the State Department turned to Giffen when it wanted to stop Nazarbayev from selling surface-to-air missiles and other arms to North Korea and Iran.

(snip)

The lawyers also say Giffen, as a Kazakh official, acted lawfully by heeding orders from Kazakh superiors to transfer funds to Switzerland. ``Mr. Giffen routinely reported to the CIA upon his return from his numerous trips,'' Schwartz said in court last year.

``When the government of the United States needed something to be done in Kazakhstan, Mr. Giffen was asked to do it,'' Schwartz said.''

(snip)

complete story (very long): http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a_jX.m5mrYFA

[DemInDistress]

1. confessions of a economical hitman..John Perkins

great 1 hour interview on the dirty side of Americans...
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article8171.htm

[ShockediSay]

3. Great book and the real deal

http://www.democracynow.org/print.pl?sid=04/11/09/1526251

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Confessions+of+an+economic+hit+man%22

[krkaufman]

6. I'm not a big fan of Perkins

Though I (believe) everything he relates in his book, I still have a hard time w/ his credibility. He doesn't provide any material evidence in the book, nor witnesses or fellow EHMs to corroborate the story. Without evidence or corroboration it isn't much more than a great novel, near-perfectly mirroring world events.

My bigger question, and I haven't looked into it yet, relates to the proceeds of the book. Given what Perkins claims he did -- and given his stated remorse -- he should not be profiting from sales of the book. To what fund is he donating all the proceeds?

[Melodybe]

2. Wow, everywhere you look their evil can be found

[malaise]

4. That's why people in developing countries laugh

when officials in the US and UK mention corruption in our countries - they should know since they offer the bribes. They pay for business access, they pay to remove governments. Indeed they work with the scum in all our societies.

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Now we know why oil prices are up.

Someone has to pay the bribery charges. They just pass that cost onto the consumer!