Swiss arms manufacture RUAG has overcharged Switzerland's defence ministry tens of millions of francs over the years, according to the Sunday editions of the Ostschweiz am Sonntag and the Zentralschweiz am Sonntag newspapers.
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اتهامات لشركة “رواغ” لصناعة الأسلحة بالمُغالاة في الفواتير المقدمة للحكومة
The profit margin in the units dealing with the maintenance, repair and combat value enhancement of jets and army helicopters is said to have been in the range of 30 to 35%. This is much more than the maximum of 8 to 10% allowed by the federal government.
Such profit margins mean that RUAG would have overcharged the military by approximately CHF40 million ($41 million) annually. According to an internal source, the practice dates back at least ten years, representing an overbilling of CHF400 million.
According to an investigation by the Office of the Attorney GeneralExternal link, RUAG used that money to subsidise other sectors of activity, mainly the unprofitable civil aircraft sector.
The armaments company rejects the accusations.
RUAG is a technology group established from the defence companies owned by the Swiss government and has been a private stock corporation since 1999. However, the federal government is still its sole shareholder. The holding company is based in Bern.
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Ruag remains among the top 100 arms manufacturers by sales according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
SIPRI’s annual figures, that were released on Monday, show that Ruag managed to clinch the 95th spot in 2017. It moved up by one place compared to the year before thanks to more arms sales: $870 million (CHF860 million) compared to $820 million the year before. Overall, the company registered sales of $1.98 billion, an increase of 5%.
American firms were responsible for the bulk of global arms sales (57%), followed by Russia (9.5%), UK (9%) and France (5.3%). China was not included in SIPRI’s statistics as reliable data could not be obtained.
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In a statement published on Thursday, the government said it had already communicated this position to the board of directors of Ruag Holding. The latter had accepted the cabinet’s decisions and recommendations. The Swiss government is the sole shareholder of the arms firm. In April, 16 organisations called on the government to reverse the arms company’s decision to…
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