Airbus Issues Statement Day After Austrian Authorities Says CEO Subject of Probe
27 Avril 2017 - 1:29PM
Dow Jones News
By Robert Wall
LONDON--Airbus (EADSY) Chief Executive Tom Enders took the
unusual step of blasting elements of the Austrian government for
what he called politically motivated accusations of corruption in a
combat plane deal struck more than a decade ago.
A spokeswoman for Austria's prosecutor Wednesday said that Mr.
Enders was being probed as part of a wider investigation into
whether Airbus overcharged the government in the sale of
Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets.
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.
Mr. Enders called the government's actions a "politically
motivated abuse of the legal system."
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. Austrian authorities are now under time pressure to act
as they approach a 10-year statute of limitation.
Mr. Enders said he was only one of many unnamed individuals
subject to the probe and that the company would fully cooperate
with the prosecutor. But, he added, Airbus considers the
allegations "unfounded and unsubstantiated."
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 27, 2017 07:14 ET (11:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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