FORMER AWB chairman Trevor Flugge and AWB trading manager Peter Geary have escaped largely unscathed from charges brought against them by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) in relation to their involvement in the Iraqi oil-for-food scandal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access to all our agricultural news
across the nation
or signup to continue reading
Mr Flugge was found guilty of one count of breaching his director duties under the Corporations Act, but had three charges thrown out, while Mr Geary had all 13 charges of breaching his executive duties dismissed.
Penalties for the charge proven against Mr Flugge could include up to $200,000 in fines.
The two men were key figures in the seismic scandal that erupted after it was found AWB had paid over $300 million in bribes to Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.
The judge officiating in the Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Ross Robson said ASIC had failed to make out its case against Mr Flugge except for one breach of director's duties for failing to make greater inquiries about the illegal payments which the regulator alleged were "well known" within AWB.
He ruled ASIC had not established Mr Flugge knew about the Iraqi payments.
In previous cases surrounding AWB officials embroiled in the scandal, ASIC won a civil case against former AWB managing director Andrew Lindberg, but no criminal charges were laid, while cases against former executives Michael Long and Charles Stott were thrown out.
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
