Reporters:Joachim Dyfvermark, Sven Bergman and Fredrik Laurin.

Gripen - The Secret Deals

In early 2007 our reporters unfolded the secret payouts that were made to ensure that BAE/SAAB landed their multi billion dollar deals when the Swedish jetfighter Gripen was sold abroad.

IN 2001 the Czech government under social democratic Prime Minister Milos Zeman, signed a deal to buy 24 Gripen fighter jets from Swedish arms manufacturer SAAB for 1.5 billion pounds. (Today almost USD 3 billion.)

It was a historic deal as it was the first sale of a Gripen fighter from neutral Sweden to a Nato country. But the deal was really meant for someone else. F16 was the favourite until the very end and the Americans were fuming with anger.

BUT THE Swedes, with their British and Czech partners, toasted the historic deal in champagne.

In the shadows lurked an Austrian Count, a former Canadian government minister and a Czech weapons dealer. Together they had contracts with SAAB and its partner British BAE systems, securing them more than 150 million dollars in "commissions". But the money was not solely for services rendered. The Czech political life also got its share.

THIS IS in essence the story that we started publishing in February of 2007. Until then very little was publicly known about the realities of what was probably one of Swedens most important arms deals ever.

The first report in February revealed the bribes, the secret contracts and the agents involved in the Czech deal, the second report aired a week later focused on the Czech politicians, who in front of our hidden camera revealed what they knew about the bribes and gave an in depth look into the role of the most important agent, the Austrian Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly and his company Valurex.
The third report in June expanded the investigation to two other Gripen business deals, namely the deals done with Hungary and South Africa.

Reporters: Sven Bergman, Joachim Dyfvermark och Fredrik Laurin