It’s been more than two decades since Austria agreed to buy its fleet of Eurofighter jets. But the deal that was meant to strengthen national defense has long since become one of the country’s deepest political wounds and on Tuesday, that old wound opens again in a Vienna courtroom, according to Austria Press Agency.
Three men, a former aviation executive and two lobbyists, will face trial on charges of embezzlement and breach of trust. Prosecutors say they helped a senior manager at the European defense giant EADS, convicted in Germany in 2019, move millions of euros into secret accounts hidden behind fake companies.
At the heart of the case lies a ghost firm called Vector Aerospace LLP. Investigators say nearly €90 million flowed through this empty shell, money that never funded planes, engines, or parts, but allegedly greased hands and bought influence. The charges claim about €65 million in corporate funds vanished this way, siphoned to lobbyists, business figures, and unidentified recipients.
To cover their tracks, money moved through front companies, wrapped in forged contracts and fake invoices. The scheme, prosecutors argue, was designed not to build aircraft, but to build trust, the kind that could win a billion euro defense deal.
The accused deny everything. They say no damage was done, no money lost, and that the clock has already run out on the case. But Austria’s courts have decided otherwise. The trial begins Tuesday, with witnesses set to testify through late March.
For Austria, the Eurofighter affair has become something larger than a defense deal, a mirror held up to its uneasy mix of politics, business, and power.
