Iraqi citizens sue over oil-for-food programme

Iraqi citizens are suing a prominent European bank and an Australian wheat exporter, saying they were cheated out of humanitarian goods when the companies permitted the United Nations oil-for-food programme to be corrupted.

A New York-based group, which has filed the $200m (€152m) lawsuit, sought class-action status on behalf of northern Iraqis, It said the bank, BNP Paribas, and AWB Limited, the largest humanitarian goods provider under the oil-for-food programme, cheated the citizens of Iraq from June 10, 1999, to June 3, 2003.