ESPERANCE, Australia, March 21 (UPI) -- Two retired senior Australian navy officers formerly associated with military contractor Tenix Defense are being investigated for alleged foreign bribery.
In 2003 and 2004 the retired officers were in senior positions with Tenix Defense when the firm won an Australian government-sponsored contract to supply search-and-rescue vessels to the Philippines coast guard.
Federal police have been investigating Tenix Defense because of allegations that the firm bribing officials in the Philippines, Indonesia and other parts of Asia to procure military contracts, The Esperance Express reported Wednesday.
The pair under investigation made no public comment about the allegations.
Prior to its 2008 acquisition by British company BAE Systems, which paid $775 million for the company, Tenix Defense was Australia's biggest defense contractor.
The Filipino contract is a sensitive topic for the Australian government because it was underwritten by a $109 million guarantee from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Export Finance Insurance Corp. and Manila has yet to repay the loan.
