US treasury asks Halliburton about Iran dealings

[Dover]

US treasury asks Halliburton about Iran dealings

12.02.2004 11.37 am

WASHINGTON - The US Treasury has reopened an investigation into whether Halliburton, the oil services firm once run by Vice President Dick Cheney, broke US laws in its dealings with Iran via a foreign subsidiary.

In a filing this week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Texas-based Halliburton said it had received a letter from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) asking for more information about business dealings with Iran, which is forbidden under federal law.

"We are making further investigations based on questions raised in the most recent (Treasury) letter," said Halliburton in the Feb 9 filing, without providing any further details...cont'd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm?storyID=3548836&thesection=news&thesubsection=world

[Drifter]

1. This egg is ...

cracking from all sides

I can't imagine Cheney making it to November as VP.

Cheers
Drifter

[salin]

2. Interesting (and note - published in NZ; will it show up in the US?)

watch this: But sources familiar with the case said an investigation into Halliburton's Iran dealings was reopened last month after OFAC received new documents. OFAC had first looked at the issue in 2001 and then decided not to proceed further.

Halliburton did not reply to phone calls or e-mails but previously has said the company's subsidiaries were staffed and managed by non-US personnel and the company believed it had complied with US laws.

Two points... first "decided not to proceed further..." With no explanation as to why. Remember - during the election Cheney completely (and strongly) denied that while he was CEO of Halliburton the company used a foreign subsidiary to go around the US law and do business in Iraq. Eventually (after the election, I believe) when confronted with information - he had to admit it... but, iirc, claimed no knowledge of it and that it was legal. So, a similar investigation - same story line but a different country - gets disgarded in the same timeframe.... what a surprise?! So why is it picking it up again, now? Because the issue of companies investing in countries that are designated as supporting terrorist activities has been pushed by, I believe, some state attorney generals... In short, the hand was pushed to reopen it.

Second point... about those foreign subsidiaries of Halliburton that are claimed to be staffed and managed by non-US personnel... wasn't this just investigated and shown for a farce (for at least some of Halliburton's subsidiary) in an attempt to dodge taxes... on Sixty Minutes a few weeks ago? Shell offices with no personnel - and whose official correspondances get immediately sent to hq in Texas. Not very independent. It would behoove those pursuing this investigation to take a close look at that angle... which "foreign subsidaries" and were they really "independent" as is required to have that particular status?

Finally - this appears to be a Reuters news story... isn't Reuters carried by many US based newspapers? If so - I have to wonder if any of those papers included this story in their newspapers today...

[salin]

3. kick... Halliburton is a big problem... not just for cheney

exposes a whole slew of hypocracy for the crony capitalism that is going on with the GOP... those who tie themselves as celebrities for the religious right... and pander themselves as only having the nation's security at its heart. These patterns of behavior... tarnish that image which hold a lot of 'culture war' voters to the GOP.

There was another story today about defense contractors owing tax bills - it focussed on small subcontractors... but the full sum stated to be owed (several billion) - are not all from small contractors. Weave all of these stories together and a different image for the public's consumption emerge about those 'moral' repubs at the top.

[Just Me]

4. They should be investigating all companies which have been doing this,...

,...for the last twenty years. If they did,...is there any doubt how that particular web would lead right to the present occupiers of the executive branch? That's my take, at least.

[leetrisck]

5. Does anyone think Marc Rich

is involved in any of this-Iranian connection, etc. Yeah, that Marc Rich that Clinton pardoned - remember Cheney (Scooter Libby) wanted him pardoned also - is there anything there?

[salin]

6. I don't know much about Rich...

what would be the tie in to this story?