12-126MR Former AWB Chief Financial Officer acknowledges breaching legal duties
Wednesday 13 June 2012
A second defendant in ASIC's civil penalty action against former officers of AWB Limited (AWB) has today acknowledged breaching his duties as an officer.
The Supreme Court of Victoria today heard a Statement of Agreed Contravention about the conduct of Mr Paul John Ingleby, the former Chief Financial Officer of AWB, in which he acknowledges that he contravened section 180(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 arising from AWB’s supply of wheat to Iraq under the United Nations (UN) Oil-for-Food Programme (OFFP).
Mr Ingleby acknowledges that between December 2001 and September 2004, he failed to exercise his powers and discharge his duties as an officer with care and diligence in that he:
- knew that AWB’s trade with Iraq was conducted under the OFFP which prohibited direct payments to the Iraqi Government;
- knew that payments from a UN escrow account to AWB in respect of contracts for the supply of wheat to Iraq could only be made for the purpose of the OFFP;
- co-authorised payments to Alia for Transportation, a Jordanian trucking company, in respect of inland transportation fees payable for contracts for sale of wheat to Iraq;
- had information available to him to raise questions as to the legitimacy of the inland transportation fees and to suggest that they were ultimately being paid to the Iraqi Government and were recovered by AWB from the UN escrow account; and
- took no steps to ascertain whether or not the inland transport fees were ultimately being paid to the government of Iraq.
The Court also heard a joint submission made by ASIC and Mr Ingleby that the appropriate penalty for the admitted contravention ought to be a pecuniary penalty of $40,000 and that Mr Ingleby be disqualified from managing corporations for a period of 15 months.
The Court has reserved its decision on the matter.
ASIC’s proceedings against four other former officers of AWB are ongoing. The Court has reserved its decision in relation to a Statement of Agreed Contraventions heard in relation to the conduct of Andrew Alexander Lindberg, the former Managing Director of AWB.
Background
In December 2007, ASIC commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria against six former directors and officers of AWB. The proceedings arose from investigations conducted by ASIC following the completion of the Inquiry into certain Australian companies in relation to the UN Oil-For-Food Programme that had been established by the Australian Government.
The defendants to ASIC’s proceedings were:
- Trevor Flugge, the former Chairman of AWB;
- Andrew Lindberg, the former Managing Director of AWB;
- Paul Ingleby, the former Chief Financial Officer of AWB
- Peter Geary, the former Group General Manager Trading of AWB;
- Charles Stott, the former General Manager of International Sales and Marketing for AWB (2001-2006)
- Michael Long, the former General Manager of International Sales and Marketing for AWB (2001-2006)
Attachment to 12-126MR Statement of Agreed Contravention: Paul John Ingleby
See ASIC Media Release 07-332 ASIC launches civil penalty action against former officers of AWB for more information
ASIC Website: Printed 05/25/2013
