COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has requested information from a Saab subsidiary about Brazil’s purchase of the Swedish company’s Gripen fighter jets in 2014, which were the subject of a Brazilian corruption investigation, Saab said on Thursday.
“Saab intends to comply with the request for information and cooperate with the DoJ in this matter,” the company said of the U.S. inquiries to Saab North America.
Saab said in its statement that the investigation by Brazilian and Swedish authorities into Brazil’s fighter jet purchasing process had been concluded without indicating any evidence of any wrongdoing by the company.
Brazilian prosecutors in 2016 formally accused Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva – then the country’s former president and now the sitting president – of using his influence to help Saab win the tender for 36 fighter jets worth $5.4 billion to achieve. Lula’s lawyers called the case “political persecution.”
The Brazilian Air Force chose the Gripen in 2014 to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets over the F-18 Super Hornet from Boeing (NYSE:) Co and the Rafale, made by France’s Dassault Aviation SA.
Thanks to the deal with Saab, Gripens can also be produced in Brazil in the future.
The first aircraft have already been delivered to Brazil and the rest are expected to be delivered in 2027.
Shares in Saab fell 6.38% at 1530 GMT.
