 Halliburton has recently been under fire due to its activities in Iraq |
A Halliburton subsidiary is under investigation by the US stock market regulator over allegations it paid bribes for Nigerian gas contracts. Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) and three other partner firms allegedly paid $180m (�99m) in bribes, the SEC says.
US Vice President Dick Cheney was head of oil services conglomerate Halliburton at the time.
Halliburton says it has become a political target and insists it did nothing wrong.
The Nigerian government ordered the investigation in February and lawyers have since been studying the payments.
Partners
Other partners in the Nigerian project in which KBR had a 25% stake include Technip of France, ENI of Italy, and Japan Gasoline.
All are being investigated.
The allegations focus on a $4bn Nigerian natural gas plant built in the 1990s by the four partners.
The payments were allegedly made to Nigerian officials.
Halliburton has in the recent past also been under fire for allegedly overcharging the government on contracts relating to the US invasion of Iraq.
One-Minute World News 
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