EMPLOYEES of wheat exporter AWB could face imprisonment for up to 10 years if a court finds they knowingly paid kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's former regime in the UN oil-for-food program.
A little-used federal law passed in 1999 making bribery of foreign officials a criminal offence is likely to be a focus of the new inquiry set up to probe whether AWB has broken any Australian laws, according to Transparency International, a global organisation that targets corruption.
The inquiry, to be headed by former NSW judge Terence Cole, was set up by the Federal Government after a UN investigation found AWB paid $290 million to a Jordanian company between 1999 and 2003 that was illegally funnelled to the Iraqi dictator's government.
The Cole inquiry has been given the powers of a royal commission, including the power to demand witnesses appear and to give them immunity.
Melbourne-based AWB has maintained it did not believe the payments were for anything other than inland transport of grain.
A spokesman for Transparency International Australia said the legislation likely to be relied on — the Criminal Code Amendment Act (Bribery of Foreign Public Officials) 1999 — was enacted as part of a global effort to try to stamp out international corruption and ensure contracts are won fairly.
The maximum individual penalties are imprisonment for 10 years or a fine of up to $66,000 or both.
Corporations can also be liable where their employees, agents or officers commit offences while acting within their employment. The maximum penalty is $330,000.
Defences to the charge of bribery include that it was lawful in the country in which it occurred.
AWB is clearly aware of the act, drawing attention to it in its internal code of conduct.
In the section on agency, facilitation and related payments — an issue that arises in a number of its markets — it says such payments may be made only if they are within the law in Australia and in the country concerned.
But it says they must have the prior approval of the appropriate executive leadership group and be reported to the managing director within a month. It noted the exclusion in the Commonwealth Criminal Code for minor payments to secure routine government action, using the example of the granting of a visa or a permit.
Transparency International Australia said it was concerned about the potential consequences of AWB's actions, noting the "inland transportation charges" represented a 10 per cent surcharge on the value of Australia's wheat sales.
It said Australia was ranked in global indexes as one of the world's least corrupt countries and No. 1 for its low propensity to pay foreign bribes.
"The AWB scandal has the potential to cause significant damage to this hard-won reputation," it said.
A little-used federal law passed in 1999 making bribery of foreign officials a criminal offence is likely to be a focus of the new inquiry set up to probe whether AWB has broken any Australian laws, according to Transparency International, a global organisation that targets corruption.
The inquiry, to be headed by former NSW judge Terence Cole, was set up by the Federal Government after a UN investigation found AWB paid $290 million to a Jordanian company between 1999 and 2003 that was illegally funnelled to the Iraqi dictator's government.
The Cole inquiry has been given the powers of a royal commission, including the power to demand witnesses appear and to give them immunity.
Melbourne-based AWB has maintained it did not believe the payments were for anything other than inland transport of grain.
A spokesman for Transparency International Australia said the legislation likely to be relied on — the Criminal Code Amendment Act (Bribery of Foreign Public Officials) 1999 — was enacted as part of a global effort to try to stamp out international corruption and ensure contracts are won fairly.
The maximum individual penalties are imprisonment for 10 years or a fine of up to $66,000 or both.
Corporations can also be liable where their employees, agents or officers commit offences while acting within their employment. The maximum penalty is $330,000.
Defences to the charge of bribery include that it was lawful in the country in which it occurred.
AWB is clearly aware of the act, drawing attention to it in its internal code of conduct.
In the section on agency, facilitation and related payments — an issue that arises in a number of its markets — it says such payments may be made only if they are within the law in Australia and in the country concerned.
But it says they must have the prior approval of the appropriate executive leadership group and be reported to the managing director within a month. It noted the exclusion in the Commonwealth Criminal Code for minor payments to secure routine government action, using the example of the granting of a visa or a permit.
Transparency International Australia said it was concerned about the potential consequences of AWB's actions, noting the "inland transportation charges" represented a 10 per cent surcharge on the value of Australia's wheat sales.
It said Australia was ranked in global indexes as one of the world's least corrupt countries and No. 1 for its low propensity to pay foreign bribes.
"The AWB scandal has the potential to cause significant damage to this hard-won reputation," it said.
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