US: The US Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into whether Halliburton, the Texas company formerly headed by US Vice-President Dick Cheney, broke US law by trading with Iran through a subsidiary. Conor O'Clery reports from New York
It is illegal for US companies or citizens to conduct business with Iran, which President Bush labelled in 2001 a member of the "Axis of Evil", along with Iraq and North Korea.
Halliburton's dealings with Tehran date back at least to early 2000, before Mr Cheney left the company, when its Cayman Islands subsidiary opened an office in the Iranian capital.
This is the third major investigation into the embattled oil and gas service company, and a further embarrassment for the Republican Vice President who ran Halliburton from 1995-2000 and who still receives part of his income from the Houston-based conglomerate.
Democratic presidential candidate Mr John Kerry has made Mr Cheney's association with the company a campaign issue. Mr Kerry's spokesman, Mr Chad Clanton, said: "Halliburton will always be the fire Dick Cheney can't put out."
The investigation began last month when a US grand jury issued a subpoena to Halliburton seeking information on the work in Iran of its Cayman Islands unit.
The Houston-based company denies it has broken any laws in its dealings with Iran, as a legal loophole allows "independent foreign subsidiaries" of American companies to conduct business there. But the perception of dealing with a "terrorist" nation has already angered shareholders. Iran is expected to be accused this week by the 9/11 commission of helping al-Qaeda members travel freely in and out of Afghanistan prior to the attacks on the United States.
Halliburton's vice-president, Ms Margaret Carriere, acknowledged in a filing by Halliburton to the Security and Exchanges Commission, "We have a Cayman Islands subsidiary with operations in Iran, and other European subsidiaries that manufacture goods destined for Iran and/or render services in Iran."
She said Halliburton had received a grand jury subpoena requesting documents related to the operations of the subsidiary, Halliburton Products & Services, which is based in Dubai and services the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
"We completed a study in 2003 of our activities in Iran during 2002 and 2003 and concluded that these activities were in full compliance with applicable sanction regulations," she said.
Democratic senator Frank Lautenberg said the investigation into the Iran connection, which produced revenues of $80 million for the company, should look at the role of Mr Cheney.
"The question must be asked: did this possible violation occur between 1995 and 2000 while Dick Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton?" he said. Mr Lautenberg's office has passed to the US Treasury Department documents sent by NIOC's British subsidiary to Halliburton's subsidiary in 1997 and 1998, seeking bids for oil services work in Iran.
The US imposed economic sanctions against Iran in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution and the holding of US hostages. Some exemptions were granted in 2000. Criminal violations can result in fines for companies of up to $500,000 and for individuals of up to $250,000, and 10 years in jail.
A subpoena was also issued this week to a former unnamed Halliburton employee as part of a separate criminal investigation. Halliburton's engineering and construction unit KBR, formerly called Kellogg Brown & Root, is alleged to have made millions by overcharging for fuel supplies and food services in Iraq, where it has supply and reconstruction contracts worth $18 billion.
US and French authorities are also investigating whether up to $180 million in payments that a consortium including Halliburton made to a British lawyer was meant as a bribe to advance the construction of a Nigerian natural gas complex.