Swiss parliamentary committee blasts supervision of military tech firm

Parliamentary oversight criticises federal supervision of RUAG MRO Keystone-SDA

The Control Committee of the Swiss Senate has identified several shortcomings in the federal government's management of arms manufacturer RUAG MRO.

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It criticised the handling of a whistleblower report and late compliance requirements.

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The investigation was triggered by inconsistencies in a planned sale of 96 Leopard 1 tanks to Germany by Ruag in 2023.

The committee calls for improvements in supervision by RUAG’s owner – the Department of Defence (DDPS).

The Commission finds it “difficult to understand” that the DDPS failed to recognise in 2019 that the Ruag management’s statement failed to refute the most important allegation from the whistleblowing report, namely the sale of material at significantly below market prices.

The government also failed to scrutinise the group’s overly positive reporting and provided insufficient information to Parliament.

In the opinion of the Senate committee, the government also realised too late that state-owned companies must maintain a compliance management system.

Translated from German by AI/mga

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