More news on Halliburton corruption

From the Financial times

Halliburton 'backed' bribes probe agent
By Thomas Catan, Stephen Fidler, Michael Peel and William Wallis
Last updated: September 17 2004 03:00

Halliburton intervened with its partners in a huge Nigerian gas venture to securethe reappointment of abusiness agent now at the centre of an international bribery inquiry, a French judge has been told.

Evidence before the judge suggests that in 1999 - while US Vice-President Dick Cheney was Halliburton chief executive - a Halliburton subsidiary overrode its partners' objections to rehiring a British lawyer who, it has since been alleged, channelled payments to Nigerian officials and corporate executives.

The evidence comes from a summary of the case obtained by the Financial Times along with a partial record of an interview by the judge of Jeffrey Tesler, the London-based lawyer.

For some context, the French judge, Renaud Van Ruymbeke is a tough one; he has gone after many corrupt politicians and businessmen in France, including Jacques Chirac. (He actually has issued a warrant against Chirac which awaits his leaving the presidency, as he is immune while he's president...). This could go pretty far, especially if, as the article suggests, thetre were strong tensions between the French company (Technip) and Halliburton within the cnsortium - someone might "chanter"