However, Halliburton’s illegal activities really came into their own when Dick Cheney became its chief executive in 1995. While Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton, it was involved in a cover-up of its widespread use of asbestos, a bribery scandal in Nigeria, a corruption scandal in Indonesia, and the poisoning of communities in New Mexico and Texas among others.
Of course, Halliburton is most famous for the war-profiteering racket that Dick Cheney’s position as vice president enabled when the U.S. illegally invaded Iraq in 2003. Halliburton reaped a nearly $40 billion profit from the contracts it received following the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Halliburton has also been accused of racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and of being viciously anti-union. In one case, taking place in Iraq, a female worker for a Halliburton subsidiary was gang-raped by her co-workers and Halliburton tried to cover it up. They tried to intimidate the female worker after the crime took place by trapping her in a shipping container without food or water for 24 hours.
