Australian Wheat BoardCMHT is prosecuting claims on behalf of American wheat farmers against the Australian Wheat Board and its subsidiary, AWB (U.S.A.) Ltd., alleging they paid bribes and kickbacks to the Saddam Hussein regime that cost American farmers millions of dollars in lost sales. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants violated U.S. antitrust and RICO laws by participating in the oil-for-food corruption scheme in exchange for the Iraqis' agreement to exclude American competitors from the bidding process for wheat contracts. In 2006, an Australian government investigation determined AWB paid $220 million in kickbacks to Hussein's regime from 1999 to 2003 to secure wheat contracts under the oil-for-food scheme, and a United Nations investigation found that AWB was the largest source of kickbacks in the scandal. |
