follow up on audit...done dealWed January 7, 2004 06:16 PM ET
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pentagon auditors said on Wednesday they expected soon to receive documents from the Army that Halliburton paid fair prices for fuel brought into Iraq, squashing price-gouging allegations against Vice President Dick Cheney's former company.
The Defense Contract Audit Agency said Army Corps of Engineers officials overseeing the oil contract had promised a "business case" that showed prices billed by Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown and Root for fuel delivered by a subcontractor were "fair and reasonable" and the issue would then be closed.
Asked whether that meant price-gouging claims would be dropped against the company if the Army Corps document said pricing was fair, a defense official said that was the case."We will consider the $61.7 million fuel-pricing issue as being resolved," said the spokesman.
Last month, a draft Pentagon audit found evidence KBR may have overcharged the Army Corps of Engineers by $61.7 million for fuel brought into Iraq via a Kuwaiti subcontractor called Altanmia Commercial Marketing Company.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=4090041ed for link