General Electric says it is not the target of a Japanese government investigation into alleged corruption involving the procurement of GE engines for the Kawasaki C-X military transport.
The investigation involves the alleged bribing of former vice-minister of defence Takemasa Moriya by Motonobu Miyazaki, a former executive with the trading company that represented GE Aviation at the time it won the contract to supply CF6-80C2 engines to power the C-X.
GE Aviation says it suspended its contracts with two trading companies where Miyazaki worked in October, "immediately after the MoD's Moriya admitted to inappropriate behaviour with Miyazaki". Prosecutors allege Moriya accepted golf trips and cash from Miyazaki.
Responding to Japanese media reports that the inappropriate relationship between Moriya and Miyazaki may have influenced the selection of its engine for the C-X, GE says the CF6 was chosen after a three-year competition against Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce.
"The MoD based its decision on technical superiority and financial terms," says GE. The twin-engined C-X is expected to fly around the end of the year.
Source: FlightGlobal.com