Airbus CEO Investigated in Eurofighter Corruption Probe
27 April 2017 - 2:36AM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall
LONDON-- Airbus SE Chief Executive Tom Enders is under
investigation over alleged corruption in the sale of Eurofighter
Typhoon jets more than a decade ago.
A spokeswoman for Austria's prosecutor said Wednesday that Mr.
Enders was being probed, although no charges have yet been brought.
She wouldn't discuss details of the case that she said weren't
public.
Airbus said the accusations were "completely unsubstantiated"
and that it had only found out Wednesday that Mr. Enders was under
investigation, which was first reported by Reuters.
The Austrian government filed a criminal complaint in February
against Airbus, seeking over $1 billion in restitution for what it
claimed was wrongdoing by Airbus in winning an order for
Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets signed in 2003. At the time, Mr.
Enders ran the defense business of Airbus, then called European
Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.
Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets are built by Airbus, in
conjunction with BAE Systems PLC and Leonardo SpA.
Airbus says it is cooperating with Austrian authorities.
The Austrian government said in 2017 it was overcharged for the
jets, which it said cost up to EUR1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) in
total to buy and EUR183.4 million to operate to date. It first
planned to buy 18 of the planes, but reduced the figure to 15 in
2007.
Suspicions of corruption were raised as early as 2002, before
the contract was completed, but remained unsubstantiated until
2006, when a parliamentary committee in Vienna identified suspect
payments apparently related to the sale. At the time, it had little
evidence of the rationale behind the payments and investigations
continued. Prosecutors are now under time pressure to act as they
approach a 10-year statute of limitation.
The probe is one of several corruption investigations Airbus is
battling. The British Serious Fraud Office has been examining
alleged bribery by an Airbus subsidiary in business dealings in
Saudi Arabia for several years. In 2016, it also began
investigating Airbus's possible misuse of middlemen in winning
plane deals.
Airbus said in April that the SFO investigation into aircraft
financing could lead to penalties with a "material impact."
The company is also facing legal challenges from intermediaries
whose contracts it has canceled.
Airbus launched an internal review in 2012 amid concerns over
the Austrian deal and the British probe into the actions of its
subsidiary in Saudi Arabia. It has now tightened its compliance
procedures and taken other steps aimed at preventing future
slip-ups.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 26, 2017 12:21 ET (16:21 GMT)
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