“There is sufficient evidence that Pilatus Aircraft failed to comply with its statutory obligations,” a government statementExternal link said on Wednesday.
The support services supplied to the armed forces of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which include technical support, replacement parts management and fixing problems with the Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, are “not compatible with the government’s foreign policy objectives”, it added.
The company was given 90 days to pull out of these countries. The foreign ministry also reported the case to the Office of the Attorney General for a criminal investigation.
Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk has repeatedly rejected the allegations, saying the company’s activities in Saudi Arabia are covered by a 2012 export permit.
Probe
Last October, the foreign ministry launched an investigation into the services supplied by Pilatus to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Jordan and stepped up the probe in January.
However, the ministry says there are no grounds for banning the company from carrying out maintenance services for the armed forces of Qatar and Jordan.
Pilatus has helped Saudi Arabia to maintain military training aircraft. The Middle East country is involved in an armed conflict with Yemen.
Saudi Arabia is a key partner for Switzerland in the Arab world and the Middle East region.
More
More
Swiss president wants to do business with Saudi Arabia
This content was published on
Comments by Switzerland’s president, Ueli Maurer, about normalising relations with Saudi Arabia have caused irritation.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 20km during holiday weekend
This content was published on
The traffic jam at the Gotthard north portal reached a length of 20 kilometres on the motorway between canton Nidwalden and canton Uri.
Swiss Interior Minister visits Cannes Film Festival
This content was published on
Swiss Interior Minister left the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday after three days of intensive dialogue, meetings and film screenings.
Swiss theatre director breaks with tradition at Vienna’s Rathausplatz
This content was published on
With the proclamation of the "Free Republic of Vienna", the start of the festival on Friday evening was unusually political.
Swiss foreign minister backs Berset at Council of Europe
This content was published on
Cassis described Berset as the "ideal candidate" to help the Council realise its aim of ensuring security and peace in Europe.
Gay conversion therapy banned in Swiss canton of Valais
This content was published on
On Thursday, the canton approved a new Health Act which includes a ban on therapies aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity.
This content was published on
Some aspects of pro-Palestine sit-ins have gone too far, but the right to protest and debate must be upheld, the student association has said.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.