WASHINGTON, 24 January 2004 — Oil services giant Halliburton informed the Pentagon that two employees took kickbacks of up to $6 million in exchange for awarding a Kuwait-based company a supply contract for US troops in Iraq, the Wall Street Journal said yesterday.
Halliburton, which has already come under criticism for its contracts in Iraq and the possibility of overcharging, issued a statement Thursday acknowledging “potential overbilling,” but did not directly address the question of kickbacks or other illegal activity.
The company said its auditors found “a potential overbilling of approximately $6 million by a subcontractor under a contract in Iraq.
“This internal audit function, which continually audits all financial aspects of the company operations, detected this potential overbilling,” the firm said.
“In accordance with company policy and government regulation, this potential overcharge was reported to the Department of Defense Inspector General’s office as well as to the contract customer.”
Halliburton and its Kellogg Brown and Root subsidiary “will ensure that questionable charges will be credited to the government and will seek recovery from the offending subcontractor,” it said.
Halliburton, run from 1995 to 2000 by Vice President Dick Cheney, declined to give details. The case involved alleged payments from a Kuwaiti subcontractor to former KBR employees. The Wall Street Journal said the suspected KBR employees had been fired.
The alleged kickbacks occurred under a 10-year “LogCap” contract secured by KBR to support US troops overseas.