A Vienna court has stopped an Austrian investigation into alleged fraud by Airbus and Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, producing Eurofighter Typhoon,  in connection with a two-billion-dollar Eurofighter jet purchase in 2003, it said on Monday.

The investigation was linked to accusations brought by Austria’s Defense Ministry in 2017, and its closure does not affect a broader criminal investigation of suspected bribery in the same deal that has been going on since 2011, a court spokeswoman said.

The court found no basis for prosecution in the charges filed in February 2017 by its Ministry of Defense, a court spokesman told AFP on Monday, confirming press reports.

The ministry triggered a new probe into Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium - which also includes Britain’s BAE Systems and Italy’s Leonardo - in February 2017, alleging that they had misled the state about the price, deliverability and equipment of the planes.

Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH, headquartered in Munich, coordinates the production of the aircraft.

Part of the Austrian case remains under investigation by the national anti-corruption prosecutor's office, which is investigating around 60 people involved in the procurement.

Among other things, the ministry accused Airbus and the consortium of illegally charging nearly 10 percent of the purchase price for so-called offset deals, which involve work being given to local companies.

Airbus and the consortium had denied the accusations.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a major prestige product for the European defense industry, with hundreds of aircraft delivered to Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, as well as to Austria and Saudi Arabia.

The four founding nations in the consortium – Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy – all use the planes in their own air forces. Other contracts have been signed with Oman and Kuwait. 

(With input from agencies)