- Daily Photo: Obama Jokes Around at G-20
- Blackwater gets replaced in Iraq
- Daily Photo: U.S. Marines Look Out for Taliban in Afghanistan
- Hillary Clinton the Tomboy and Her "Ah-Ha" Moment
- Obama Administration Sudan Envoy Headed to Region
- Daily Photo: Potential Flashpoint in Iraq
- Clinton Says New Afghanistan-Pakistan Plan Depends on Diplomacy
- Exclusive: Three Israeli Airstrikes Against Sudan
- Additional 4,000 Troops to Be Ordered to Afghanistan
- Daily Photo: Navy Submarine Trains in the Arctic
- Alarm Over North Korea Missile Prep
- Anti-Terror Stimulus? US Offers Rewards for Top Terrorists
- Daily Photo: Pakistani Women in Refugee Camp
- Condoleezza Rice Appears on "The Tonight Show"
- Diplomat and Aid Group Sound the Alarm on Darfur Camp Situation
- auto industry rescue
- Ballotwatch
- Biden, Joe
- Bush, George W.
- Clinton, Bill
- Clinton, Hillary
- Dodd, Chris
- Edwards, John
- Giuliani, Rudy
- Gravel, Mike
- Huckabee, Mike
- Hunter, Duncan
- Inauguration
- Iraq
- Kucinich, Dennis
- McCain, John
- Obama, Barack
- Palin, Sarah
- Paul, Ron
- Romney, Mitt
- Tancredo, Tom
- Thompson, Fred
- Veepstakes
- Vote 2008: Democrats
- Vote 2008: Republicans
- Washington
- White House
« Previous | Main | Next »
Clinton Fundraiser Accused of Fraud
Email
ShareApril 04, 2008 12:39 PM
ABC News' Marcus Baram Reports: One of Hillary Clinton's major fundraisers has reportedly been accused of defrauding the Nigerian government in a pending criminal complaint.
Kase Lawal, an oilman from Texas who owns several energy companies, was accused by Nigeria's former top anti-corruption official of illegally pumping and exporting 10 million barrels of oil, according to McClatchy Newspapers.
Lawal is one of 250 "Hillraisers" who have pledged to raise at least $100,000 in donations for the candidate. Clinton attended a fundraising luncheon that collected more than $100,000 at Lawal's home in Houston last August.
The 53-year-old businessman did not return calls from ABCNews.com but he "unequivocally and vigorously" denied the charges to McClatchey reporters, explaining that he has traveled to Nigeria at least 70 times since 1999 and has never been served with legal papers.
Lawal and his family have been bipartisan fundraisers.
His wife, Eileen, contributed $1,000 to Barack Obama's leadership PAC, the Hope Fund, on April 25, 2006, according to campaign finance databases. Lawal has also raised money for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Although the Nigerian legal system is notorious for politically-influenced prosecutions, Lawal's prosecutor, Nuhu Ribadu, had a reputation for integrity and recovered $5 billion in stolen funds during his four years as head of the country's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Though Lawal reportedly claimed that three national police chiefs have told him that the case "has no merit," the commissioner of the federation police's legal section told reporters that the criminal complaint is pending saying, "I want to go ahead with the case."
A spokesman for the Clinton campaign issued a statement: "Senator Clinton is one of many candidates and public officials to whom Mr. Lawal has donated money. While no vetting process is perfect, our vetting department does extensive vetting in order to catch any issues with donors, and to our knowledge Mr. Lawal is an upstanding member of his community in Houston, TX."
April 4, 2008 in Bush, George W., Tancredo, Tom | Permalink | User Comments (27)
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Ihave lived and worked in Nigeria for some time...not as corrupt as it's been portrayed. The Government is cleaning up it's act now, with a newly elected president, that's why all those that have committed fraud against it like the clinton fund raiser are being called out now for justice. These crime were committed in conjunction with the former military leaders.
It is now clear that the clintons are benficiaries of the old corrupt Nigerian government. Telling us one thing and doing another
Posted by: Justin | Apr 5, 2008 11:42:19 PM
...look at Peter Paul vs Clinton, look at "Chinagate" or the "China Plan", look at Hillary the Movie, look around and see if you like what you see...
Posted by: andrew of california | Apr 5, 2008 11:53:48 PM
Well the Clintons have a million corporate lobbyists and special interests who have given them money and now expect to be paid back. I just wish the Clintons would be more transparent about this.
-jay
Posted by: politics nut | Apr 14, 2008 12:55:59 AM
Speaking of scams, Barack Obama's rise to the world stage has overseas scammers feeling empowered to try and take advantage of folks here. In a post yesterday, I highlighted how a "Kenyan journalist" tried to bait me with "very valuable private and confidential damning info about Senator Barack Obama that may tilt the stakes in the presidential election and change the course of American history" as well as "an autographed copy of a muslim Qur’an that he gave to a girlfriend on a previous Kenya visit just before he went to Harvard." Hope you'll check it out by clicking on my name above.
Posted by: Bob McCarty | Oct 31, 2008 9:40:44 AM
Speaking of scams, Barack Obama's rise to the world stage has overseas scammers feeling empowered to try and take advantage of folks here. In a post yesterday, I highlighted how a "Kenyan journalist" tried to bait me with "very valuable private and confidential damning info about Senator Barack Obama that may tilt the stakes in the presidential election and change the course of American history" as well as "an autographed copy of a muslim Qur’an that he gave to a girlfriend on a previous Kenya visit just before he went to Harvard." Hope you'll check it out by clicking on my name above.
Posted by: Bob McCarty | Oct 31, 2008 9:41:14 AM
Speaking of scams, Barack Obama's rise to the world stage has overseas scammers feeling empowered to try and take advantage of folks here. In a post yesterday, I highlighted how a "Kenyan journalist" tried to bait me with "very valuable private and confidential damning info about Senator Barack Obama that may tilt the stakes in the presidential election and change the course of American history" as well as "an autographed copy of a muslim Qur’an that he gave to a girlfriend on a previous Kenya visit just before he went to Harvard." Hope you'll check it out by clicking on my name above.
Posted by: Bob McCarty | Oct 31, 2008 9:41:21 AM
Speaking of scams, Barack Obama's rise to the world stage has overseas scammers feeling empowered to try and take advantage of folks here. In a post yesterday, I highlighted how a "Kenyan journalist" tried to bait me with "very valuable private and confidential damning info about Senator Barack Obama that may tilt the stakes in the presidential election and change the course of American history" as well as "an autographed copy of a muslim Qur’an that he gave to a girlfriend on a previous Kenya visit just before he went to Harvard." Hope you'll check it out by clicking on my name above.
Posted by: Bob McCarty | Oct 31, 2008 9:41:27 AM
Post a comment
