Several Iraqi citizens sued a leading European bank and Australia's wheat exporting agency in New York federal court Friday for corporate misconduct facilitating the corruption of the Iraq Oil-for-Food program [JURIST news archive] which bilked Iraqis out of humanitarian aid while simultaneously enriching the Saddam Hussein regime. French bank BNP Paribas [corporate website] and the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) [corporate website] face a claim for $200 million in damages brought by seven Iraqis seeking class-action status for Iraqi residents of Irbil, Dokuk and Sulaimaniyah who were allegedly deprived of humanitarian aid by the Oil-for-Food kickbacks. The plaintiffs are suing under RICO [text], the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [DOJ backgrounder] and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [PDF].
|