NEWS

PARIS, June 13 (Summary of UPI Report) - The French weekly, Le Journal du Dimanche, reported that French investigators found the "key to the sharing" of bribes by Halliburton's KBR unit and three other firms. The $180 million bribe was paid by the companies to officials of the Nigerian government in order to secure a contract to build a $4 billion natural gas plant. French investigators say $5 million of the bribe money was found in the Swiss bank account of KBR chief executive, Jack Stanley, who retired in December 2003. "The mechanism resembles that of the Elf affair, in which certain heads touched retro-commissions," a specialist told the French newspaper, referring to a vast kickback scandal involving the former French oil company. The bribery occurred while Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, but Cheney is not directly implicated in the scandal.