EADS : Swiss Attorney General Confirms House Searches in EADS Probe
11/13/2012| 06:37am US/Eastern
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By Neil MacLucas
ZURICH--The Swiss Attorney General's office Tuesday confirmed it has searched properties in Switzerland at the request of its Austrian colleagues, who are investigating alleged corruption involving the sale of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.'s (EAD.FR) Eurofighter jets.
The Bern-based office told Dow Jones Newswires that it "instructed federal police to conduct several house searches in Switzerland at the request of Austrian prosecutors," but spokeswoman Jeannette Balmer declined to comment further.
Last week, Austrian financial daily Wirtschaftsblatt reported on its website that the case concerns possible bribes tied to Austria's purchase of Eurofighter jets from EADS.
The article said prosecutors in Vienna alerted investigators in Switzerland and Germany to the allegations, and searches in both countries have now been confirmed.
EADS also confirmed the probe and told Dow Jones Newswires last week that prosecutors have searched three sites in Munich.
Swiss daily Tagesanzeiger Tuesday reported that Swiss authorities searched the home of a German citizen who is suspected of registering several front companies in Switzerland, which were then used to launder around 10 million euros ($12.7 million) of bribes paid by EADS.
Write to Neil MacLucas at neil.maclucas@dowjones.com
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