Vienna, – The Federal Ministry of Defense and Sports has filed a criminal complaint against the alleged fraudulent and deceptive deception against Airbus Defense and Space GmbH (formerly EADS Deutschland GmbH) and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH at the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Republic of Austria, represented by the Finanzprokuratur, has joined the criminal proceedings against the two Airbus companies as private parties.
The investigation of the “Task Force Eurofighter” set up under the leadership of Generalmajor Hans Hamberger in 2012 is the basis for the presentation of the facts with private stakeholders.
On the basis of the investigations carried out by the “Task Force Eurofighter”, the Ministry assumes in its criminal complaint that the two indicated Airbus companies have confiscated the Republic of Austria since 2002 both about the true purchase price as well as on the true delivery capability and true equipment of the Eurofighter interceptors Intention.
Hans Peter Doskozil, Federal Minister for Defense and Sport: “The report that I have been told states is that the Republic of Austria would not have decided to purchase the Eurofighter in 2003 without the fraudulent deception of Airbus Defense and Space GmbH and the Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH The comparison of June 2007 would never have come about as a minister of defense, I see myself obliged to report to me the known facts of criminal law and to make the damage caused to Austrian taxpayers.
“I am talking about the comprehensive and final cleansing of the Eurofighter purchase, which has been the subject of corruption charges for the last 15 years, and I want to make sure that the cause of the accident is clear, and that taxpayers must be sure that we handle their money with care They will continue to be ready to accept investments in the security of our country, “the defense minister said.
Republic of Austria calls for reparation
Wolfgang Peschorn, President of the Financial Prosecutor: “With regard to damage, causality, illegality and negligence, the Republic of Austria has today joined the criminal proceedings against Airbus Defense and Space GmbH and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The damage to the republic is calculated as the sum of the purchase price paid for 15 Eurofighters plus the difference between the operating costs incurred for the Eurofighters compared to the hypothetical operating costs of an alternative aircraft minus the present value of the 15 Austrian Eurofighters.
The damage known to date can therefore amount to up to 1.1 billion euros. In any case, he is at least 183.4 million euros, which the two displayed Airbus companies have put into the purchase price as part of their sly misleading. In addition, there will be the damage from the future costs of the operation of the more expensive Eurofighter, which can not yet be quantified.
Fraud by deception about the true value of the purchase object
The facts show that the two Airbus companies indicated have never informed the Republic of Austria that they have accounted for almost 10 per cent, exactly EUR 183.4 million, of counter costs in the purchase price of EUR 1.959 billion. Even though the Republic of Austria has already clearly stated in the first tender documents of 2001, it is necessary to identify separately the costs for the settlement of the required countertransactions.
The Republic of Austria had to always assume that the purchase price according to the purchase contract of 1.7.2003 corresponds to the true value and quality of the interceptors ordered and the processing of the required counter transactions will have no financial implications. In fact, the fraudulently priced € 183.4 million was used for legal as well as for criminal counter-transaction costs. Both the prosecutor’s office in Munich and the public prosecutor’s office in Vienna have been investigating this issue for some time.
Fraud by deception on the purchase item
The existence of the “task force Eurofighter” suggests that the two Airbus companies of the Republic of Austria have promised and contracted the delivery of a purchase item since 2002, although they were neither able nor willing to contract it. The comparison between the Republic of Austria and the Airbus companies concluded in 2007 does not alter the criminality of these fraudulent acts.
Peschorn: “We assume that the Republic of Austria would not have concluded either the first purchase contract 2003 or the 2007 settlement with the conditions agreed at the time, if these facts had been known.”
Airspace monitoring secured
With the comprehensive presentation of the facts with a private stakeholders, the claims of the Republic are guaranteed in any case, a legal loss of the civil law claims is now excluded. Regardless of the criminal investigation of the past, his first and most important task as defense minister is to guarantee the security of the country, according to Doskozil.
The Minister: “The airspace surveillance by the Austrian Armed Forces is still guaranteed, and our air forces and pilots do an excellent job of providing high-performance interceptors, and I am 100% committed to airspace monitoring by the Austrian Armed Forces.”
However, according to Doskozil, the Eurofighter of tranche 1 used by the German army is very expensive during operation. “We will pay € 80 million for Eurofighter operation in 2017. In addition, we will have to replace our Saab 105 OE by 2020. We are called upon to find new solutions, so I have a special commission under the command of the commander in the Ministry of Defense The Luftwaffe forces, Brigadier Karl Gruber, to examine, by the end of June 2017, all the options for guaranteeing the safety of our airspace as effectively as today, but more cost-effectively. ”
To the “Task Force Eurofighter”
The “Task Force Eurofighter” was established in 2012 to investigate the impact of the Ministry of Defense on whether the Republic of Austria was harmed in the procurement of Eurofighters. The Task Force’s investigations were conducted under the direction of Generalmajor Hans Hamberger in close consultation with the President of the Financial Prosecutor, Wolfgang Peschorn, and in cooperation with the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office, which was already involved in the Eurofighter purchase under the GZ 604 St 6 / 11f has initiated an investigation into suspected corruption and bribery of officials. As external experts, the American law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Skadden), the Austrian hero Berdnik Astner & Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH, Grant Thornton Unitreu Advisory GmbH for forensic investigations and the civil law experts Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christian Rabl and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas Kletécka.
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