Legal group sues Cheney for fraud

A LEGAL watchdog group said yesterday that it was suing Vice-President Dick Cheney and Halliburton Co, the oil services company he ran for five years, alleging fraudulent accounting practices at the company.

The lawsuit by Washington-based Judicial Watch alleges that the accounting fraud led to shareholder losses, claiming Halliburton overstated revenues by $445m from 1999 to the end of 2001.

"Halliburton overstated profits that many American citizens relied upon. That's fraudulent security practices and it resulted in those Americans suffering huge losses," said Larry Klayman, chairman and general counsel of Judicial Watch.