Halliburton Hides

Halliburton has been in full retreat in recent months, getting the f* out of Dodge and circling the wagons.

Says halliburtonwatch.org:

Halliburton is moving to UAE at a time when it is being investigated in the U.S. for bribery, bid rigging, defrauding the military and illegally profiting in Iran. It is currently in the process of divesting all of its ownership interest in the scandal-plagued KBR subsidiary, notorious for overcharging the military and serving contaminated food and water to the troops in Iraq.

Although Halliburton will still be incorporated inside the United States, moving its corporate headquarters to UAE will make it easier to avoid accountability from federal investigators. The company has proven adept at using offshore subsidiaries to circumvent restrictions on doing business in Iran and to elude responsibility for paying benefits to former employees. Halliburton has also used its operational structure for contracts in Iraq and post-Katrina -- especially multiple layers of subcontractors -- to elude oversight and accountability to taxpayers. Moving to UAE may also hinder ongoing government investigations into Halliburton's alleged bribes paid to the government of Nigeria....

The United States has no extradition treaty with the UAE.

Halliburton earned a record $2.3 billion in profit last year, and it is now putting all that capital—hustled from American taxpayers via the Pentagon's liberally awarded no-bid contracts—and all its operations beyond the reach of Americans seeking restitution. It is diabolically clever and unabashedly unjust. And it's going to happen anyway.