DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A U.K. man who was a former vice president and consultant to KBR
Inc. (KBR) pleaded guilty to charges related to a conspiracy scheme
and now faces up to five years in prison.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Wojciech J. Chodan,
72 years old, admitted that between 1995 and 2004, he and
co-conspirators agreed to pay bribes to Nigerian officials,
including top-level executive-branch officials, to obtain and keep
engineering, procurement and construction contracts. Those
contracts, to build liquefied natural-gas facilities in Nigeria,
were valued at more than $6 billion.
Chodan also has agreed to forfeit $726,885 as part of his plea
agreement. He was originally charged in February 2009 and is
expected to be sentenced Feb. 22.
Last year, Halliburton Co. (HAL) and its former KBR unit agreed
to $579 million in penalties to settle bribery allegations related
to the construction of a gas plant in Nigeria. KBR pleaded guilty
to charges in the case, and the government agreed not to prosecute
Halliburton.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com;