The FBI is now said to be looking into the “no-bid contracts that Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), the company that Vice President Dick Cheney headed before he took office, received from the Bush administration before and during the Iraqi occupation. The FBI is said to be trying to determine if the overcharges and the contracts themselves should be investigated and possibly prosecuted as criminal matters. The agency is apparently looking for Bunnatine Greenhouse, the chief contracting officer for the Army Corps of Engineers, who recently alleged that Halliburton’s KBR subsidiary unfairly received billions of dollars in taxpayer money, but she is said to be asking first for “whistleblower” protection. Halliburton has called the allegations and investigation “election politics,” and said its “no-bid” assignments in Iraq was legal. "The old allegations have once again been recycled, this time one week before the election," Halliburton spokesperson Wendy Hall was quoted as saying. "The GAO said earlier this year that the contract was properly awarded because Halliburton was the only contractor that could do the work.” "This multibillion dollar no-bid contract to Halliburton was suspicious from day one, and now our worst suspicions are confirmed," U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg stated. "The FBI doesn't get involved unless there are possible criminal violations." Among the emails confiscated is reportedly one that said the Iraq contract was “coordinated” with the office of Vice President Cheney, who continues to receive deferred compensation from the company. He has claimed to have had nothing to do with the Halliburton contracts. For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on http://www.financialwire.net
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.