THE corporate regulator is today expected to restart stalled civil proceedings against former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge and four former executives, shifting focus back to the Iraqi kickbacks scandal as the one-time monopoly wheat exporter tries to sell its GrainCorp merger.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission put on hold its civil cases in November 2008 due to possible criminal charges being laid against the men, who include former general manager trading Peter Geary and former chief financial officer Paul Ingleby.
Following its decision not to pursue criminal charges earlier this year, ASIC will return focus to the civil cases, which could generate more than $10 million in penalties, The Australian Financial Review reports.
ASIC, which launched civil action in 2007, alleges the chairman and executives breached the Corporations Act by entering contracts they knew or should have known breached UN sanctions governing the oil-for-food program. Each breach carries a penalty of up to $200,000.
It is unclear whether GrainCorp would be liable to pay the fines and associated legal costs if it is successful in its $856 million bid for AWB, which it launched on Friday.
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