During the reign of Saddam Hussain in the early 2000’s, there was money to be made in circumventing UN trade embargoes. Huge sums of money were available to private companies who found a way to export to Iraq on the quiet.
Lumber shipments from Australian firms were officially turned away at Iraqi customs to respect sanctions. It later transpired that millions of dollars lined the pockets of officials along the way and the goods made it through.
The malfeasance was investigated by the Australian authorities in 2006.
In summing up, Justice Cole observed that you “couldn’t see the wood for the trucking fees.”