AWB could face terrorism-related charges amid claims some of its staff knew money being funnelled to Saddam Hussein's government could have been funding atrocities against his own people.

In a sensational end to the Cole inquiry on Friday, senior counsel assisting the probe John Agius SC flagged the charges as he grilled AWB's former managing director Andrew Lindberg for a final time.

The pressure of having to return to the inquiry for a third stint clearly showed, with Mr Lindberg breaking down in tears during the final stages of his evidence.

The inquiry also saw the return of AWB's former chairman Trevor Flugge, who again struggled with his memory of AWB's dealings with Iraq and answered more than 70 times he either could not recall or remember to various questions from by Mr Agius.

But the most stunning evidence came in the form of internal AWB emails which suggested some of its senior staff knew what atrocities the Iraqi dictator was capable of.

Mr Agius revealed damning emails which showed the Iraqis in 2001 wanted foreign currency to build 2,000 tonne concrete bunkers.

At the time, AWB was funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of kickbacks to Saddam's government in the form of so-called trucking fees paid to a Jordanian transport firm, Alia, which was part-owned by the dictator's regime.

Mr Agius noted around that time there were many media reports about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and record of human rights abuses against sections of Iraq's population, including the minority Kurdish population.

In the series of AWB emails, some staff referred to how the Iraqis needed money to build grain storage bunkers.

But in one email, AWB marketing executive Daryl Borlase made a more worrying suggestion.

The bunkers will have cement walls and floors so they are actually designed for burying the Kurds - under the cement??, his email said.

They intend to build them with fumigation capability so the mind boggles as to whether they are fumigating insects or any other pest that pisses them off.

The email then continued: On a serious note they will have cement flooring ... .

Mr Agius then reminded commissioner Terence Cole QC that under his terms of reference he had to consider the issue of whether or not it might be said that AWB and others might have committed an offence under the terrorism offences in the (Commonwealth) criminal code.

Under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, it is illegal to provide or collect funds which will be used to facilitate a terrorist act and other initiatives.

Those found guilty face life imprisonment.

Mr Agius suggested to Mr Lindberg that Mr Borlase's email does make plain some AWB staff knew Saddam's regime was capable of human rights atrocities.

Mr Lindberg said while he agreed that interpretation could be made, he hoped Mr Borlase hadn't written his email in a serious way.

But he acknowledged that he himself knew that the UN's sanctions against Iraq at the time were designed to stop the Iraqis getting hold of foreign currency to buy guns or fund atrocities.