Former Workers At Halliburton Are Probe Target
The Justice Department is looking into whether former Halliburton Co. employees conspired with other companies to rig bids for large overseas construction projects, according to the company.
The antitrust probe has grown out of a continuing investigation into whether a consortium of companies that included Halliburton bribed officials in Nigeria to win a lucrative contract to build a liquefied natural-gas plant there. Halliburton disclosed the bid-rigging investigation in its annual 10-k filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Halliburton says the federal investigation has "uncovered" information suggesting that several employees may have been involved in coordinated bidding for large construction projects as early as the mid-1980s. Halliburton also said it and federal investigators had broadened their probes to determine if Halliburton and other companies had broken antitrust laws.
"We don't believe at this point in time there have been any antitrust violations," says Halliburton spokeswoman Wendy Hall . She said the company was cooperating in the investigation. The company didn't provide further information. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.
The antitrust and Nigeria investigations are focused on various former employees including Albert J. "Jack" Stanley, once chairman of Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown & Root, according to the 10-K filing. Mr. Stanley was fired in June. The company said at the time the reason was because he had received "improper" payments from an agent of the Nigeria construction consortium. Mr. Stanley's lawyer didn't return calls seeking comment.
The four companies in the consortium had veto power over decisions, though other members said employees of Halliburton and predecessor companies held key management positions. Halliburton says it was an equal partner.
The antitrust probe is looking into Mr. Stanley's activities dating to the mid-1980s, when he worked for construction firm M.W. Kellogg. In 1988, Kellogg was acquired by Dresser Industries Inc., which was acquired by Halliburton in 1998, in a deal put together by Dick Cheney, now the U.S. vice president but at the time Halliburton's chief executive.
In addition to being a major provider of oilfield services, Halliburton, of Houston, has a giant construction and government-contracting unit called Kellogg Brown & Root. KBR is one of the world's largest overseas construction firms and specializes in building large and complex facilities -- from chemical plants to railroads -- in remote corners of the globe. Earlier this year, Halliburton said it would sell KBR to boost the market value of its core oilfield unit. The company, however, said it could take several quarters before the unit is separated from the rest of the company.
Halliburton already faces a raft of investigations. These include a federal grand jury that is looking into whether the company violated U.S. sanctions against doing business in Iran. The company says its operations in Iran complied with U.S. law. Another ongoing investigation is trying to determine whether Halliburton overcharged the military for running dining halls in Iraq, where it has a multibillion dollar contract to provide logistical support for the troop deployment. The company says it is working with the military on this issue. 哈里伯顿面临反垄断调查
据哈里伯顿公司 (Halliburton Co., HAL) 表示，司法部正在对公司前雇员进行调查，以确定他们是否与其他公司合谋操纵大型海外建筑项目的竞标。
此次反垄断调查源于目前正在进行的对包括哈里伯顿在内的一个公司财团的调查，这些公司涉嫌向尼日利亚政府官员行贿以赢得一项在当地建造液化天然气工厂的有利可图的合约。
哈里伯顿已经在提交给美国证券交易委员会 (Securities and Exchange Commission) 的 10-k 报告中披露了有关上述操纵竞标的调查。
哈里伯顿称，联邦调查显示的信息表明，几名雇员涉嫌早在 80 年代中合谋竞投大型建筑项目。哈里伯顿还称，公司和联邦调查人员已扩大调查面，以确定哈里伯顿和其他公司是否违反了反垄断法。
哈里伯顿发言人 Wendy Hall 称，此时此刻，公司相信并未违反反垄断法。她称，公司正在配合调查。哈里伯顿不愿提供进一步信息。
据 10-k 报告显示，此次反垄断调查和尼日利亚事件的调查主要集中在包括 Albert J. 'Jack' Stanley 在内的几名前雇员上。 Stanley 一度是哈里伯顿子公司 Kellogg Brown & Root 的董事长。 Stanley 于去年 6 月份被解雇，哈里伯顿称个中原因是他曾经从尼日利亚建筑财团的一位代理人那里获取不当报酬。 Stanley 的律师没有回复记者寻求置评的电话。
