SYDNEY -- As scandals go in the annals of Australian business, the one over wheat sales to Iraq during the Saddam Hussein regime is huge. And the political fallout, both domestic and international, may prove to be even mightier. It leaves many people here and abroad scratching their heads in amazement.

In Washington, American class-action lawyers are mounting an action to sue for $1 billion in damages.

Australia was the main wheat supplier to Iraq while the United Nations Organization was trying to enforce sanctions in its oil-for-food program. As an inquiry has just revealed, it turns out that Australian kickbacks helped finance the Baghdad dictator in defiance of U.N. sanctions.