When New York City comptroller William Thompson, who oversees the city’s pension funds, asked Halliburton, General Electric and ConocoPhillips for information about their dealings with Iran and Syria, he found that all three companies were involved. Halliburtion was using a Cayman Islands shell company to do business with Iran.
As Halliburton originally began trading with Iran while Dick Cheney was still on its board, he must have participated in making the decision to trade with Iran.
“We believe their use of offshore and United Kingdom subsidiaries to establish operations with countries that sponsor terrorism violates the spirit, if not the letter of the law,” says Thompson. “These actions also expose the companies to the prospect of negative publicity, public protests, and a loss of consumer confidence, all of which can have a negative impact on shareholder value.”
New York City’s pension funds have $951 million invested in General Electric, $124 million in ConocoPhillips and $23 million in Halliburton, which has an office in Iran through its Cayman Islands Subsidiary. Halliburton has asked permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to refuse the comptroller’s request to disclose what it does via its shell company’s office in Tehran. GE does business with Iran through its Canadian subsidiary, and a GE spokesman says the company is in full compliance with the law. ConocoPhillips operates in both Iran and Syria through its British subsidiary.
We may not have peace in the world, but we can try to have inner peace.
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