French prosecutors are looking into a 2008 contract signed between shipbuilder DCNS and Brazil for the delivery of five submarines, French media have reported.
The investigation will try to determine whether bribes helped the French defense contractor win the 6.7 billion euro contract for five diesel-electric submarines.
All five boats are in initial phases of construction with the first one set for a July 2018 launch, according to IHS Jane’s.
The investigation was launched in October last year and is linked to an inquiry launched by Brazilian authorities in 2014 under the name Lava Jato.
The French shipbuilder denied any involvement in the alleged bribe scheme, according to Reuters. “We have nothing to do with the Lava Jato case. DCNS scrupulously respects the rules of law around the world,” a DCNS spokesman told the agency.