In a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Marubeni Corp., a Japanses trading company, will pay the U.S. government $54.6 million dollars for bribing Nigerian officials to receive natural gas contracts on Bonny Island, Nigeria.  Between 1995 and 2004, Marubeni was awarded $6 billion dollars in contracts, which it obtained through bribery.  The Justice Department recently filed a deferred-prosecution agreement charging Marubeni with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits bribery of foreign officials.