Airbus Seeks Resolution to Germany Corruption Probe
14 January 2018 - 6:18AM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall
European plane maker Airbus SE Saturday said it is seeking to
bring to a close a high-profile corruption case in Germany
involving the export of combat aircraft and that it has suffered an
unrelated legal setback in Taiwan in a long-running contract
dispute with the government there.
Airbus has been grappling for years with globe-spanning
allegations of corporate wrongdoing, including bribery, the illegal
use of middlemen to win deals, and other misdeeds. The U.S. last
year began investigating Airbus for potentially breaching arms
export rules. Kuwaiti authorities last month said they were opening
a probe into alleged corruption on a helicopter contract.
One of the most visible cases hanging over Airbus has been the
accusation of wrongdoing on the sale from the company's
Germany-based defense unit of Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets to
Austria more than a decade ago. The Austrian government filed a
criminal complaint last February against Airbus, seeking over $1
billion in restitution. German and Austrian authorities have probed
the deal, finalized in 2003.
Last year, Austrian authorities said they were investigating
several Airbus officials, including Chief Executive Tom Enders, for
their involvement in the deal. Airbus last month announced Mr.
Enders wouldn't seek a new contract when his current one expires
next year. Mr. Enders has said the allegations in Austria were
unsubstantiated.
The German public prosecutor in Munich has said it was winding
up its investigation and would decide whether to bring charges
against the company.
Airbus on Saturday said in a statement it was in talks with the
Munich authorities to bring an end the investigation. It didn't
comment on the nature of any settlement being discussed. Airbus
said it would disclose the results of its talks with the Munich
authorities once they were completed. Airbus has said it is
cooperating with the various probes.
Separately, the company said an arbitration court in Taiwan has
granted the government a EUR104 million ($127 million) award in a
contractual dispute on a missile deal that dates back to 1992.
Mr. Enders, who in recent years has taken steps for Airbus to
bolster it legal compliance programs, has said he was trying to get
the issues hanging over the company resolved. "Today's disclosure
on the arbitral award relating to a case dating back as far as 26
years symbolizes the progress Airbus is making in its efforts to
overcome legacy legal issues, " a company spokesman said.
Airbus still has multiple other legal disputes under way. French
and British authorities are investigating the company for failing
to disclose the use of middlemen on commercial plane deals. Airbus
said it alerted authorities to the wrongdoing and was cooperating.
Mr. Enders last year warned resolving the issue could take time and
be costly.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 13, 2018 14:03 ET (19:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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