After a series of high-profile international bribery and corruption scandals and a reputation of opaque finances and governance, Australia’s biggest construction company, Cimic, is close to pulling up stumps from the ASX, more than 60 years after its sharemarket debut.

It comes amid an exit from its Middle East joint venture that has left a trail of unpaid bills estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars and a court-appointed administrator warning of brewing criminal prosecution against some former management at its Qatari joint venture...

While the wage scandal has been largely dealt with, subcontractors have not been as lucky, with companies such as Al Nasr Contracting, owed millions, dating back well before the sale agreement. These companies are on the verge of collapse...

Up to a year of unpaid wages to hundreds of foreign workers – many left stranded in labour camps without enough money to pay for food or bills, along with some long-serving Australian expats, unable to return home – cannot be ignored.