ANBERRA (Dow Jones)--John Anderson, formerly Australia's Deputy...

ANBERRA (Dow Jones)--John Anderson, formerly Australia's Deputy Prime Minister,
Monday denied insider trading in shares of agribusiness and monopoly wheat exporter AWB
Ltd. (AWB.AU).
"I categorically and completely deny any insider trading by myself or my
wife," he said in a statement.
Anderson, who operates a wheat property in northern New South Wales, sold his AWB
shares Oct. 10 for A$5.17 a share, ahead of a report published Oct. 27 to the United
Nations by Paul A. Volcker on kickbacks of US$221.7 million that AWB paid Saddam
Hussein's regime during the operation of the oil-for-food program.
He said he intended to sell the shares when they reached a reasonable price in order to
allow for a diversification of family investments.
AWB shares rallied strongly through late 2005 into mid-January, when they reached a
peak of A$6.41, just before the start on Jan. 16 of a government-appointed inquiry into
whether AWB breached Australian law in paying the kickbacks.
Around 0300 GMT Monday, AWB traded at A$3.86 a share, down 4.5% on the day and down 40%
from the January high, following a series of damaging revelations at the inquiry.
Anderson stepped down from the position in June 2005.
He said he overlooked updating his pecuniary interest statement to parliament until
February.
At no stage did Prime Minister John Howard, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer or Deputy
Prime Minister and Trade Minister Mark Vaile "provide me with any information about
the Volcker inquiry," he said.
"The sale of these compulsorily acquired shares was a purely commercial decision -
I had no inside information from any source before I sold the shares," he said.