SEC Charges KBR and Halliburton for FCPA Violations - ONLY THE BEGINNING

[radfringe]

SEC Charges KBR and Halliburton for FCPA Violations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2009-23
Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2009
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-23.htm

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settlements with KBR, Inc. and Halliburton Co. to resolve SEC charges that KBR subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root LLC bribed Nigerian government officials over a 10-year period, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), in order to obtain construction contracts. The SEC also charged that KBR and Halliburton, KBR's former parent company, engaged in books and records violations and internal controls violations related to the bribery.

KBR and Halliburton have agreed to pay $177 million in disgorgement to settle the SEC's charges. Kellogg Brown & Root LLC has agreed to pay a $402 million fine to settle parallel criminal charges brought today by the U.S. Department of Justice. The sanctions represent the largest combined settlement ever paid by U.S. companies since the FCPA's inception.

"FCPA violations have been and will continue to be dealt with severely by the SEC and other law enforcement agencies," said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. "Any company that seeks to put greed ahead of the law by making illegal payments to win business should beware that we are working vigorously across borders to detect and punish such illicit conduct."

Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said, "This case demonstrates the close and cooperative working relationships that have developed in FCPA investigations among the SEC, the U.S. Department of Justice, and foreign law enforcement agencies and securities regulators."

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1. The investigation continues; and

2. The financial intermediaries who participated (hint: think State Street) are being targeted.

http://www.progressivesplayground.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=127&topic_id=81&mesg_id=81&page=

[SpiralHawk]

1. Republicon Homelander cabal 'O cronies

A war-profiteering plague upon America

[Blaze Diem]

2. Invading a Country for the sole purpose of profitting from that invasion.

Iraq better be on their list on investigations.
Blatant violation.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. And of course, none of the leadership of those companies will be fined or imprisoned.

I'm also curious that, as large as those settlements are, how do they compare to the money that the companies made by doing those illegal things?

I mean, if I were CEO of a giant evil corporation, and could make $4 billion off a deal that might later cost me $400 million in fines, I'll take the deal and consider the $400 million just part of the expenses.

Hell, I'd have my accountants also figure out a way to take that $400 million fine as a "business expense" and write it off the taxes.

[Greyhound]

10. Exactly the point I would make.

Less than a 1% penalty for stealing billions? Please.

That's one of the ways that M$ gained their monopoly. If any of us could get this kind of a deal, we'd all be sipping fruity drinks on the Riviera.

[conscious evolution]

4. So it starts.

Good.They got it coming.

[dkofos]

5. Yet they continue to get govt. contracts.

Obama should re-institute Clinton's policy of no govt. contracts for scofflaws.

[PearliePoo2]

7. They are still getting contracts?

That's unconscionable. :mad:
This administration must shit-can all of these thieves and their money-grubbing corporate cronies.
Lift up the rocks and expose these slimy, thieving rat-bastards.
Put them in prison and throw away the key.
Investigate...investigate:

[dkofos]

8. Invetigate HELL. I would rather see them loose those contracts NOW.

[elizfeelinggreat]

6. k & r

[radfringe]

9. with Thomsen leaving

and from the line of questioning during the Madoff whistle-blower hearings - I'm guessing the SEC is going to go through a big shake-up... might even get some REAL teeth

and don't forget WAXMAN is on this too....

Enron - Halliburton - KBR - Cheney......it all connects

[sattahipdeep]

11. The FINRA is, and was, responsible for monitoring Bear Stearns,

Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, et al.

"Schapiro, who received $2.8 million in salary and incentive compensation last year from FINRA, will make $162,900 this year as SEC chairman."

So Thomsen was clearly thrown to the dogs as the sacrificial lamb earlier this week but, come on, Schapiro's just as useless. And as Markopolos pointed out, corrupt

....
01:02:11 MARKOPOLOS

01:02:39 REP.SHERMAN

....
01:05:01 REP.CASTLE

01:05:36 MARKOPOLOS

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=283836-1

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=269332&mesg_id=269442

[radfringe]

12. time to clean house.... n/t

[radfringe]

13. HEADS UP - FPDS = Federal Procurement Data System.

Open Government Tip: FPDS.GOV http://www.fpds-ng.com/

For example, once you register (for free) you can see such reports as the Top 100 Federal Contractors for 2006.

You can also search by vendor name (e.g., Halliburton or KBR, or State Street).

[radfringe]

14. KBR and Halliburton: A Shocking Turn of Events

KBR and Halliburton: A Shocking Turn of Events
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2009/02/kbr-and-halliburton-a-shocking-turn-of-events.html

Five years ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigating whether KBR was among several companies that paid $180 million in bribes to win contracts to construct a natural gas liquefaction plant in Nigeria. Last September, former KBR executive Albert Jackson Stanley cut a deal with the SEC and DOJ, and now KBR and its former parent, Halliburton, have done the same.

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How Halliburton ensured it had a very profitable war in Iraq
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0213/1233867934795.html

IT MAKES sense at first sight. The logistics involved in fighting a war, especially one far from home, can be horrendous. And the complexity of supplying hundreds of thousands of troops with equipment, medical care and food – just for starters – is not a skill set for which armed forces would be renowned.

There is also the cost, which can escalate exponentially, especially if financial control and top-end management skills are in short supply. Much simpler to outsource. Bring in an outside company that knows the business; it will save money and be more efficient. The army would maintain a vigorous overview.

That is the theory that brought Halliburton in to do the logistics for American troops in the Balkans, Afghanistan and most notoriously in Iraq. But, as the author points out, the Halliburton operation has been far from efficient and certainly didn’t save any money.

There has been a steady stream of Halliburton stories coming out of Iraq. Time and again the company was awarded contracts for which there was no other competitive bid allowed. The company spent $75 million digging a pipeline under the Tigris river at a location where the army later decided nobody should have tried. This was part of the $7 billion (no bid) contract to restore Iraq oil exports, which has been a disaster. Then there are the disposable canteen plates that cost the American taxpayer $28 each.

[spanone]

15. knr