Ex-subcontractor indicted in US for Iraq bribes

World Crises | Reuters.com: "Thu 8 Jun 2006 7:15 PM ET

HOUSTON, June 8 (Reuters) - A former employee of a Saudi company was indicted in Illinois for making kickbacks to a Halliburton manager to win U.S. military dining subcontracts in Iraq and Kuwait, the U.S. Attorney's Office said on Thursday.

Mohammad Shabbir Kahn was charged under the 16-count indictment with giving $133,000 to a former procurement manager at Halliburton's KBR unit, the Pentagon's largest private contractor in Iraq.

Khan, 49, a Pakistani-born U.S. citizen, paid the money to KBR's Stephen Seamans in 2002 and 2003 to win the subcontracts worth $21.8 million for Saudi Tamimi Global Co. to provide military dining services at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait and a palace in Baghdad, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois.

Khan was arrested in Illinois on March 22 on charges of making a false statement and is being held pending trial. He faces 12 counts of wire fraud and four counts related to witness tampering and money laundering.

Seamans, 44, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud and conspiracy for taking the kickbacks and awarding the KBR contracts to Tamimi. He is cooperating with prosecutors in the investigation.

Halliburton , formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, has drawn attention for its work in Iraq from auditors and the Justice Department, which is investigating potential overcharges for fuel, dining and laundry services."