Austria to sue Airbus over alleged fraud in $2-bn sale of Eurofighter jets

Austria's defence ministry will sue European giant Airbus over alleged corruption and bribery linked to a controversial $2 billion sale of Eurofighter jets, an official said on Thursday.

"We will file a lawsuit against Airbus," defence ministry spokesman Michael Bauer told AFP.

He said the findings of a government investigation into the 2003 deal for purchase of 15 fighter jets worth around 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) will be presented later on Thursday morning.

According to the Austrian Press Agency, the probe found that Airbus had falsely inflated the purchase price.

Austria initially ordered 18 jets but then dropped the number to 15.

Prosecutors in Vienna and the southern German city of Munich have also been investigating whether officials paid millions of euros through advisory firms to secure the contract.