"Through design, construction, and maintenance activities, the joint venture will contribute significantly to further enhancing the capabilities and readiness of our Royal Saudi Naval Forces," SAMI boss Andreas Schwer said. A spokeswoman for Naval Group -- which is owned by the French state and French multinational giant Thales -- refused to give any more details. OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia has been one of the world's top arms buyers for the past several years. Naval Group -- which was previously called DCNS -- has been embroiled in a long-running graft scandal over the 2002 sale of two Scorpene submarines to Malaysia for $1.2 billion. A French investigation launched in 2010 has already led to four French executives involved in the deal being charged.

Source: The Local February 17, 2019 15:22 UTC