Brazil buys JAS39 Gripen

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.thelocal.se/20150410/brazil- ... r-jet-deal

Brazil prosecutors probe Sweden's fighter jet deal

Published: 10 Apr 2015 16:54 GMT+02:00
Updated: 10 Apr 2015 17:12 GMT+02:00

A 39.3 billion kronor ($5.5 billion) deal signed by Swedish defence company Saab to build and sell 36 Jas Gripen fighter jets to Brazil is being investigated by Brazilian prosecutors.

The Brazilian federal government and Saab officially signed the contract in October, after a year of negotiations.

The total price of the jets had then gone up by $900 million (around 8.3 billion kronor in today's exchange rate),
which prompted Brazil's government secretariat to initiate a probe into why the bill had sky rocketed.

Saab press officer Sebastian Carlsson has confirmed that Brazil's public prosecutors are now investigating the purchase – but underlined that no suspicion of criminal activity has as of yet been announced.

“It is correct that there is a prosecutor now who is going to ask a few questions.
In Brazil the possibility of reporting things and the right to have it investigated is very open to anyone.
It is both common and expected that a report like this arrives,” he told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

Brazil agreed in October to buy 36 Gripen NG fighter aircraft, including their related systems and equipment.
The fleet will be comprised of 28 single-seat and eight two-seat Gripen NG which will be delivered between 2019 and 2024.

Saab CEO Håkan Buskhe explained on Brazilian television after the purchase that the higher price was due to the customer adding new requirements to the order during the process as well as fluctuating exchange rates.

“The contracts are signed in Swedish kronor, but Brazil is an oil economy where a lot is based on the dollar,” Carlsson told SVT.

According to Brazilian newspaper Folha de San Paulo, the entire deal could be annulled if the prosecutor discovers financial irregularities.
But Saab said it welcomes a judicial investigation.