Wheat exporter issues bribe apology
Australia’s monopoly wheat exporter has apologised for paying bribes to Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime, in a statement written by its boss and released for the first time by an inquiry into alleged corruption.
In the six-paragraph statement, drafted in December, AWB Ltd’s former managing director Andrew Lindberg acknowledged the wheat exporter made the payments to Saddam as part of the now-discredited United Nations Oil-For-Food programme.
The payments were uncovered in an investigation led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker.
“For this we are truly sorry and deeply regret any damage this may have caused to Australia’s trading reputation, the Australian government or the United Nations,” the statement said.
