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Austria sues Airbus over "deception" in Eurofighter jet sale: report

Xinhua, February 17, 2017 Adjust font size:

The Austrian Ministry of Defense on Thursday filed a criminal complaint against aircraft manufacturer Airbus, alleging the company engaged in "fraudulent deception" in the sale of its Eurofighter jets, local media reported.

ORF, Austria's largest media provider, quoted Defense Minister Hans Peter Doskozil as saying that Austria will be undertaking the legal action as a private party.

Austria is looking at recovering an initial 183.4 million euros (195.5 million U.S. dollars) in damages, according to Doskozil.

This figure was the sum the Austrian government spent on the purchase of the interceptor jets in 2003, according to the report.

It was further argued that had it opted for different planes, it could have saved subsequent costs incurred that totalled 1.1 billion euros.

The Taskforce Eurofighter, set up by the ministry to investigate the case, argues that Airbus was wilfully deceitful in providing the real cost of the fighter jets, its capacity to deliver them, and concerning the equipment and outfitting of the aircraft.

It was argued that had the alleged deception not taken place, Austria would have never agreed to the purchase.

Airbus responded to the allegations in a statement provided to the Austria Press Agency later on Thursday, rejecting them and referring to a "political maneouver". Endit