Embraer faces US and Brazilian bribery probe – report

(Reuters) – US and Brazilian authorities are investigating whether Embraer SA bribed Dominican Republic officials in exchange for a $90 million contract for light attack planes, the Wall Street Journal said, citing legal documents and people familiar with the case.

The world’s third-largest commercial plane maker disclosed two years ago that it had been under investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission since 2010 regarding sales of aircraft abroad.

The new allegations cast a harsh light on one of Brazil’s biggest exporters and a cornerstone of its burgeoning defence industry.

The reports come at a crucial moment for Embraer’s defense unit, which partnered with Boeing Co to sell a military cargo jet, its biggest plane ever, against Lockheed Martin Corp’s Hercules airlifter in the United States and Britain.

Embraer is cooperating fully with authorities, the company said in a statement on Saturday, but it declined to comment on details of the allegations due to the confidentiality of the investigation.

“The company requires that all its employees have a conduct of strict compliance with laws and regulations,” said a spokesman in an emailed statement.