Reports in The Age indicate the UN was looking into whether any money the Saddam Hussein regime paid the AWB for wheat sold to Iraq was “kicked back” illegally to the regime via a third party, in this case an unidentified Jordanian trucking firm.
According to AWB spokesman Peter McBride, in a statement to the daily, “The company’s contracts [are] completely under the terms provided by the UN.”
“The Wheat Board’s contracts with Iraq included the use of a third party to provide inland transport and the now defunct Iraqi Grains Board provided the AWB with the name of [the] preferred company and the AWB used that company for all its contracts,” added McBride who would not divulge the name of the transport firm.
Later on ABC’s PM current affairs program, McBride refused to divulge the name of the trucking firm as “it was part of a commercial agreement” and the AWB was not in the position to name the company. He acknowledged the UN knew of the Jordanian firm.
“The AWB was unaware of any money being given to the Iraqi regime by third parties and the company [denies] any allegations of kickbacks or bribes to the Iraqi regime. We have acted in the utmost integrity in supplying a very good product to Iraq,” said McBride who also revealed the UN had yet to contact the Wheat Board.
