Halliburton's Dubai move sparks US political ire

[maddezmom]

Halliburton's Dubai move sparks US political ire 9 minutes ago



WASHINGTON (AFP) - A weekend announcement by Halliburton, the US oil services giant, that it is shifting its corporate headquarters to Dubai from Texas triggered an angry response from some US lawmakers Monday.

Halliburton, which was once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, said Sunday it was relocating to the United Arab Emirates to capitalize on the region's booming energy market.

"It's an example of corporate greed at its worst," Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

"This is an insult to the US soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years," he charged.

"At the same time they'll be avoiding US taxes, I'm sure they won't stop insisting on taking their profits in cold hard US cash."


more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070312/bs_afp/usuaecompany_070312151623

Halliburton's Dubai Move Makes Democrats SuspiciousLargest Military Contractor In Iraq
~snip~

Halliburton Co., currently the largest military contractor in Iraq with billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, announced Sunday that it was planning to move its CEO and corporate headquarters from Houston to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

The move could eventually save the firm a fortune in U.S. taxes, but it is raising serious questions about its priorities and prompting at least one possible congressional hearing.

~snip~

For one of the largest contractors with the United States government to move its headquarters overseas? just doesn't look good, doesn't sound good, doesn't smell good," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

The move may raise serious national security questions too, as happened last year with the canceled port security contract with another U.A.E.-based company, Dubai Ports World. Congressional outrage scuttled that deal; Halliburton will now have some explaining to do to avoid similar scrutiny.

"Obviously a company that has its headquarters overseas should be given a little more scrutiny than an American company," Schumer said. "No question about it

more:http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=politics&id=5113528

[underpants]

1. Jesus talk about BALLS-you take tax money and then leave the country to avoid taxes?

Good lord. They must not think there will be any repercussions.

[Amonester]

3. They R convinced there will not be any repercussions.

Have they any doubt there will be any repercussions?

No. Because the way Darth Cheneyous elf scares everybody who hears the idiocies he spouts, there will never be any repercussions.

[coalition_unwilling]

23. I would hope that at least Bernie Sanders (Vermont Democratic

Socialist senator, although listed as Independent) would start talking about expropriating Halliburton assets and nationalizing them.

[Frank Cannon]

2. Dick Cheney STILL gets paid by Halliburton

And I can't imagine how many stock options he has in that company. Prior to being VP, he was the freaking CEO, for crying out loud!

Our Vice President is probably THE biggest war profiteer in American history. That used to be punishable as a federal crime in this country, and those facts should be screamed by every single news outlet in America.

But, of course, they won't. Nothing to see here, folks.

[IntravenousDemilo]

7. When exactly did they take the anti-profiteering laws off the books?

And if they're still there and just being ignored, can't Congress do something about it? Or if the laws have been abolished, again, can't Congress do something about it?

[VegasWolf]

8. Maybe. If Congress had any balls. Maybe they'll pass a non-binding resolution? nt

[Solon]

26. Cheney dances around the law...

He doesn't get paid directly, instead, the money from his stocks and supposedly a salary go into a trust that he cannot touch till he leaves public office. Of course, by the end of his term, it means the same thing, I wonder how much bigger his trust is now compared to 5 years ago?

[soothsayer]

22. his options were underwater pre-war. Halli had lost $2B in the

two years prior. First war contract was for $2B (making cheney's options worth something again) and then of course when no one stopped it the contracts just skyrocketed.

[Double T]

4. What would you expect from criminals with NO conscience, No ethics.......

and NO integrity?? Halliburton is a bunch of criminals fleeing the country to avoid prosecution. Time for arrests and indictments of the senior executive management.

[coalition_unwilling]

24. And expropriation of asset and nationlization -n/t

[EVDebs]

5. Isn't Halliburton a 'quasi-governmental agency' if more than 50% of its business is via govt ?

Just asking. This would mean it shouldn't be allowed to go offshore. Same for Lockheed-Martin, etc. etc.

[AndyA]

6. Something stinks worse than last Friday's raw ground beef on Wednesday.

Halliburton knows the Dems are going to start uncovering crap. Could this be a way for them to avoid prosecution?

I wonder what kind of agreement we have with Dubai regarding American criminals in their country... :eyes:

[maddezmom]

9. flashback: Halliburton under Cheney doing business w/ Iran....Cayman Islands and Dubai

~snip~

That subsidiary, Halliburton Products and Services, Ltd., is wholly owned by the U.S.-based Halliburton and is registered in a building in the capital of the Cayman Islands – a building owned by the local Calidonian Bank. Halliburton and other companies set up in this Caribbean Island, because of tax and secrecy laws that are corporate friendly.

Halliburton is the company that Vice President Dick Cheney used to run. He was CEO from 1995 to 2000, during which time Halliburton Products and Services set up shop in Iran. Today, it sells about $40 million a year worth of oil field services to the Iranian government.

~snip~

In a letter to New York City Comptroller Thompson, Halliburton says its Cayman Island subsidiary is actually run out of Dubai. 60 Minutes went there and learned that it shares office space, phone and fax lines with a division of its U.S.-based parent company -- which raises more legal questions about its independence from Houston. But once again, our inquiries went unanswered.

In its letter to Thompson, Halliburton insists it is complying with all U.S. laws. But he and legal experts we consulted believe they are dancing right along the edge of legality.

more:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/22/60minutes/mai...


Business As Usual?
Halliburton’s CEO says his company is pulling out of Iran. But a corporate subsidiary is still going ahead with a deal to develop Tehran’s natural gas fields

Newsweek
Updated: 6:10 p.m. ET Feb. 16, 2005
Feb. 16 - Only weeks before Halliburton made headlines by announcing it was pulling out of Iran—a nation George W. Bush has labeled part of the “axis of evil”—the Texas-based oil services firm quietly signed a major new business deal to help develop Tehran’s natural gas fields.

~snip~

The deal, diplomatic sources tell NEWSWEEK, was signed with an Iranian oil company whose principals include Sirus Naseri, Tehran’s chief international negotiator on matters relating to the country’s hotly-disputed nuclear enrichment program—a project the Bush administration has charged is intended to develop nuclear weapons.

~snip~

Halliburton has consistently argued that it is not in violation of U.S. sanctions law because Halliburton Products & Services Limited (which is registered in the Cayman Islands but located in Dubai) operates autonomously without direction from senior management in Houston. In documents the company has submitted to investigators, for example, Halliburton has stated that Halliburton Product & Services' 133 employes include no Americans and that its five-person board of directors includes four British citizens and one Canadian citizen; “none of them is a U.S. permanent resident alien” or green card holder. “Day to day management and decision-making responsibility at HPSL resides with the Management Director (who is a British citizen) and other local management, all of whom reside in Dubai.”

But other company documents and sources familiar with the Justice Department investigation suggest that, at the very least, U.S. government officials have had questions about the Dubai-based subsidiary’s “independence” for some time. Company disclosures show that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control first questioned Halliburton about whether it was in compliance of U.S. sanctions against Iran as early as mid-2001. In January, 2004, Treasury raised the issue again after a "60 Minutes" report that Halliburton Products & Services was located in, and receiving mail, in the same Dubai office tower address where another of the company’s principal—and indisputably U.S.-controlled subsidiaries, Kellog Brown & Root—also had offices. This led, according to a company report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to a referral of the matter by Treasury to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation. Halliburton then received its first a grand jury subpoena for documents on September 16, 2004, according to the firm’s latest filing with the SEC.

more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6982444/site/newsweek /

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=268211&mesg_id=268211


I think this has been in the works for a long time. Baker Botts has an office over in Dubai and probably has been working on the project and the legal loopholes for a while now.

[merh]

10. Dubai which also has no extradition arrangement with the United States

http://www.drugtext.org/library/articles/912612.htm

[AndyA]

12. It figures.

I'm not surprised, amused, nor happy about this.

Congress needs to announce no more war related contracts with foreign owned companies.

I wonder how these companies think Americans will be able to pay taxes (so our government can in return give the money to the corporations) when there are no jobs over here...

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. Dupe, sorry. n/t

[TechBear_Seattle]

15. Indeed. This is not about protecting profits; it is about protecting as*es

I bet the UAE does not have extradition to the United States, am I right?

I'm still curious: if Haliburton moves outside the US, the will no longer be an American country, right? Doesn't that automatically disqualify them from any work that touches on national security? That they would risk so much does indeed smell rotten.

[liberal N proud]

11. Halliburton - Taking the money and running

I will let them have the money, if they promise to take Dicky with them.

[Miss Chybil]

13. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Next! nt

[w4rma]

16. I wonder how far the Republican leadership will go to protect Haliburton. Let's find out. (nt)

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

17. Suspend All Payments. Cancel All Contracts.

You want to de-fund the war and bring the troops home? Create a situation where the defense contractors aren't getting rich -- they'll lose the will to fight in a matter of minutes.

[saigon68]

18. they'll lose the will to fight in a matter of .(Nano-seconds)

LOL

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

19. STOP THIS DISCUSSION RIGHT NOW!!!!

Can't you see you're hurting the morale of our brave contractors? How can we expect them to shamelessly over-charge the government if they don't know that they have America's full support?

[saigon68]

33. Yes we can't tamper with their Morale and Desire

To loot amerika of Billions of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Megahurtz]

20. Well WHO'S going to do it?

I would be pleasingly shocked if anyone does it.

[truthisfreedom]

21. As far as I'm concerned, cheney is now employed by the terrorists.

It's that simple.

[0rganism]

25. I think some new legislation is in order: all DOD contracts to be given to US-based companies ONLY

international firms would still be sub-contractable, of course, but not allowed to bid directly.

[semillama]

27. If Dubai doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US

I think we can guess where Cheney is going to be living come 2009...

[colorado_ufo]

31. Got some pretty fancy townhomes and penthouses there.

Hope Lynne brings lots of moisturizer.

[semillama]

32. I don't think there's too many gamebirds in Dubai, though.

I guess that never stopped Cheney from finding something (or someone) to shoot, though.

[eridani]

34. Well, the head of state is an old falcon hunting pal of OBL's

I'm sure they could arrange something if they could get the old fart on a horse, though it would be a lot more strenuous than the canned hunts he's used to.

[semillama]

35. The problem would be Cheney would end up blowing away

a prize falcon, and then he'd really be in trouble then.

[MasonJar]

28. Cancel all the Haliburton contracts now.

[SKKY]

29. This takes the saying, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" to a whole new level...

[superconnected]

30. betcha the bushy leave after jr is again, nothing.