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Nigerian Offshore Rigs:
Identifying the
Bribe Taker
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jackson
908 F.Supp.2d 834 (S.D.Tex. 2012)
Noble Energy is an international corporation that provides oshore
drilling equipment and services around the world. Bet ween 2003 and
2007, one of the company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries operated a num-
ber of drilling r igs o the coast of Nigeria, where the law requires rig
ow ners t o eith er pa y per manen t imp ort du ties or els e obt ain a tempo rar y
import permit (TIP).
TIPs allow drilling rigs to operate in Nigerian waters without pay-
ment of permanent import duties, and the Nigeria Customs Service
grants these permits for rigs that will be in the countr y for up to a year.
e customs service may, in its discretion, grant up to three 6-month
