Cole Inquiry found AWB paid A$300m to Iraq; ASIC penalised former officers
AWB Ltd · Agricultural commodities (wheat export)
The case in brief
Visible before detection
Checks that could have surfaced it, on hindsight
Counterparty existence
Would have tested what services the trucking company actually provided.
Can mislead when: Real companies can be used as pass-throughs. Existence does not prove a real trade, so C6 and C7 still apply.
End-use tracing of funds
Would have traced the fees onward to the Iraqi government.
Can mislead when: Kubr sees only the company's own accounts. Once money reaches a third party's bank, Kubr can flag the payee but cannot see the next hop without that party's consent.
Regulatory & litigation records
Would have surfaced the UN Volcker inquiry findings on AWB.
Can mislead when: Court records lag and name spellings vary. A clean record can mean the problem has not reached court yet.
Where Kubr services would have helped
Verified Snapshot
Offered in India- C4 Would have tested what services the trucking company actually provided.
- C8 Would have surfaced the UN Volcker inquiry findings on AWB.
Valuation context
Offered in India- C4 Would have tested what services the trucking company actually provided.
- C8 Would have surfaced the UN Volcker inquiry findings on AWB.
Borrower monitor
Offered in India- C6 Would have traced the fees onward to the Iraqi government.
- C8 Would have surfaced the UN Volcker inquiry findings on AWB.
Proceeds tracer
Offered in India- C4 Would have tested what services the trucking company actually provided.
- C6 Would have traced the fees onward to the Iraqi government.
Mapped from the checks each service runs. A hindsight reading of public records, not a promise that the failure would have been found.
Same pattern
A summary of public documents. It reports what the sources say. It is not Kubr's finding and not a statement of guilt.