Airbus said on Saturday it had been ordered to pay 104 million euros in fines over a missile sale to Taiwan in 1992, the latest French arms company to reach a settlement over disputes arising from one of France's biggest ever arms sales. The scandal around French arms sales to the island in the early 1990s was one of a series of cases that underpinned accusations of widespread corruption during the final years of late French president Francois Mitterrand.
Airbus said in a statement that its subsidiary behind the missile contract, Matra Defense, was "reviewing the award before evaluating the next steps to take". The arbitration fine comes three months after Dassault Aviation, radar supplier Thales and engine maker Safran said they had been fined a combined 227 million euros ($276.80 million) in Taiwan to settle the 25-year-old dispute over the wrongful use of commissions in the sale of 60 Mirage fighters to the island. "This was a commercial dispute and not a corruption allegation," said an Airbus spokesman.
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