Earlier this afternoon the RBA put out a press release refuting claims that it had a case to answer in regard to its former relationship withe regime of Saddam Hussein and admitting that would did happen was “ill-advised“:
The visit to Iraq was covered in media articles four years ago,” an RBA spokesperson said.
“The visit in 1998 was, in the opinion of the Bank, ill-advised. No banknotes were ultimately supplied to Iraq. On the records available to the Bank, the project went into abeyance after concerns were raised by DFAT with the then CEO of NPA.
“Decisions on communication with the central bank of Nepal were taken after obtaining legal advice and on the recommendation of the company’s senior management.”
Now ASIC has produced a video arguing that it was thorough in its investigations of the RBA subsidiaries:
Pretty extraordinary stuff. Both organisations appear to think, rightly or wrongly, that they can avoid further scrutiny by winning a trial by media.
