Nigeria: LNG - American Admits Bribing Nigerian Officials
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This Day (Lagos)
5 September 2008
Posted to the web 5 September 2008
Constance Ikokwu
St Paul, Minneapolis
A former executive of Houston-based Global Engineering, Construction and Services company, Albert Stanley, has pleaded guilty to bribing Nigerian officials in order to secure contracts to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in Bonny Island, THISDAY has learnt.
Stanley admitted before the United States (US) District Court in Houston, Texas, that he paid $182 million in bribe to secure engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts thereby violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), the Justice Department said.
The LNG project was valued at more than $6 billion. The company was part of a four-company joint venture awarded four EPC contracts by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) between 1995 and 2004.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was the largest shareholder of NLNG with 49 per cent.
Acting Assistant Attorney-General Mattew Friedrich of the criminal division announced that Stanley conspired to commit wire and email fraud in a decade-long grand kickback scheme.
He added: "The Department of Justice is committed to aggressively enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Today's plea demonstrates that corporate executives who bribe foreign government officials in return for lucrative business deals can expect to face prosecution," said Friedrich.
Stanley admitted that two consultancy agents were hired at his behest to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials in order to secure EPC contracts.
He also confessed that he and others met top office holders from the executive branch of government.
The Justice Department statement reads: "Stanley also admitted at crucial junctures before the award of the EPC contracts that he and others met with three successive former holders of top-level offices in the executive branch of the Nigerian government to ask the office holder to designate a representative with whom the joint venture should negotiate bribes to Nigerian officials."
According to the criminal information to which Stanley pleaded guilty, the joint venture paid approximately $132 million to Consulting Company A and more than $50 million to Consulting Company B during the course of the bribery scheme. Stanley admitted that he had intended for the agents' fees to be paid, in part, for bribes to Nigerian government officials.
Stanley entered the plea before District Judge Keith P. Ellison.
He pleaded guilty to two-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to violate the FCPA and conspiracy to commit email and wire fraud.
He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.
But under his plea agreement with the court, he faces seven years in prison and payment of $10.8 million in restitution.
He also admitted to receiving some $10.8 million in kickbacks from a consultant hired at his behest in connection with the LNG projects.
In a related civil action, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Stanley with violating anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and other provisions of the federal securities laws.
SEC's Director of Enforcement, Linda Chatman Thomsen, stated that the case "demonstrates that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is committed to holding violators accountable when they engage in illegal conduct to obtain business in foreign countries."
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A sentence date is yet to be set.
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I commend the federal court in Houston for pursuing bribery and corruption case in nigeria with stanley albert. US federal court also, need to look into Halliburton case in nigeria. These corpoartion are destroying africa in general and nigeria in particular. Bribery in against the law in US and should be against the law anywhere in the world. Beribery and corruption is like cancer it eats every inside until the inside becomes empty vaccum.
So, in conclusion thank US federal, May God Guide, protect and give you encourage to pursue these crimes and please put them in jail.