Another Oil-for-Food Bribery Sentence
Daniel Plainview, the ruthless wildcatter in the movie There Will Be Blood, would be disappointed in fellow oilman, David Chalmers Jr.
Attempting to profit off other people's goodwill through illegal means, only to get caught? Tsk. Tsk.
A federal judge today sentenced Chalmers to two years in federal prison and fined him $9 million for having paid kickbacks to the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein in exchange for access to Iraq's oil.
Chalmers pleaded guilty last summer to buying Iraqi oil between 2000 and 2003, and bribing government officials to do so. At the time, Iraq was subject to a United Nations trade embargo. Oil sales were permitted only to raise cash to help Iraqi citizens attain basic necessities like food and medicine.
At the same time Chalmers was sentenced, so were two companies he operated, Bayoil (USA), Inc. and Bayoil Supply & Trading Ltd. The companies were sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to give their ill-gotten profits to the Development Fund of Iraq.
Several other executives have been convicted for their roles in this scheme, including Coastal Corp. founder Oscar Wyatt. He repaid more than $11 million to the Development Fund of Iraq.
by Jennifer Lai
Loading...
Thank you for registering as a Portfolio.com Insider. Your comment has been added.
Create Your Public Profile- ACBJ to relaunch Portfolio.com
- May 20 2009 1:44PM EDT
- 44, Day 97: On Golf, Swine Flu, and a "Hallmark Holiday"
- Apr 26 2009 5:39PM EDT
- 44, Day 96: Where's the Suggestion Box?
- Apr 25 2009 2:10PM EDT
- 44, Day 95: Let Them Have Student Loans
- Apr 24 2009 6:49PM EDT
- Stressing Out Over Stress Tests
- Apr 24 2009 2:14PM EDT
- King of the Private Equity Hill
- Apr 24 2009 8:23AM EDT
- 44, Day 94: What's in Obama's Wallet?
- Apr 23 2009 6:39PM EDT
- Madoff Clawback Campaign Targets Ex-Clients
- Apr 23 2009 3:00PM EDT
- Merrill, Muzzle, and the Mob
- Apr 23 2009 1:45PM EDT
- 44, Day 93: Earthly Concerns
- Apr 22 2009 7:14PM EDT
- Stanford Prosecutor Arrested for Assault
- Apr 22 2009 5:47PM EDT
- IMF Downgrades the Global Economy
- Apr 22 2009 2:00PM EDT
- Ackman Opens His Target Slate to Questions
- Apr 22 2009 11:51AM EDT
- Freddie Mac Acting CFO Found Dead
- Apr 22 2009 8:42AM EDT
- 44, Day 92: About Those Interrogations
- Apr 21 2009 5:53PM EDT






