Niko nets fine for bribes

http://www.shahriar.info (শাহরিয়ারের স্বপ্নবিলাস)
A Calgary oil and gas company has been ordered to pay a fine of almost $9.5 million for bribing a Bangladeshi government official.

Niko Resources Ltd. was charged with providing goods or services to influence the acts or decisions of a foreign state.

The bribes were made after explosions at one of the company's natural gas fields resulted in protests from people in a nearby village who were worried about how it will affect the environment.

The bribes included providing the former Bangladeshi State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mosharraf Hossain with a trip to Calgary, New York, and Chicago and also for the use of a vehicle.

The charges were the result of a six year investigation by the Calgary RCMP International Anti-Corruption Unit and occured between February 1 and June 30, 2005.

Officials from the company pleaded guilty to the charge in a Calgary courtroom on Friday.

The fine was agreed to by both the company and the crown in a joint statement of facts.

Niko Resources Ltd., explores, develops and produces natural gas and oil in India, Bangladesh and other foreign countries.

Mosharraf denies taking bribe

Former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, who had to resign from the cabinet over taking a Tk 1 crore sports utility vehicle (SUV) from Niko in 2005, yesterday protested the verdict of a Canadian court finding the oil company guilty of bribing him.

Before giving the verdict, the Canadian court should have conducted its own investigation whether he have accepted any bribe, Mosharraf said while talking to The Daily Star.

"The court accepted the fine and acquitted Niko, but heaped all faults on me. The court let Niko off the hook by allowing the Canadian company pass all mistakes on me," he pointed out.

Although Mosharraf yesterday denied taking any car from Niko, back in June 18, 2005, he told The Daily Star he saw nothing wrong in taking the car and he would not return the vehicle.

"This is just an over-magnification of a small issue. It is unjustified to call this a gift. I shall use this on official purpose -- it's not for my personal use. It will go back to Bapex once I have finished using it," Mosharraf had said after his resignation.

His driver had received the Land cruiser Cygnus by signing a document from Niko that was severely being criticised for its negligent operation in an exploratory gas well in Tengratila -- leading to an explosion on January 8, 2005.

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