Arrests in India over sale of wheat from Australia
Caroline Overington; 11/7/08
Two of India’s top public servants have been arrested in connection with corruption in the $300 million wheat trade between Australia and India. The arrests come two years after the Howard government stymied an investigation into the Indian wheat scandal, which allegedly occurred in 1998, when the Australian Wheat Board was a statutory authority under the government’s supervision. The case centres on the purchase of two million tonnes of Australian wheat at “exorbitant prices”, and the payment of $2.5million in commissions to bank accounts in the Cayman Islands in February 1998. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI, wanted to investigate the scandal in 2001, 2004 and 2006, but officials said the Howard government repeatedly refused to assist the Indian police with their inquiries.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24001985-5013404,00.html