The Airbus affair refers to allegations of secret commissions paid to members of the Brian Mulroney government in exchange for the purchase by Crown corporation Air Canada of a large order of Airbus jets.
In 1995, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police accused Mulroney and Frank Moores of accepting kickbacks from Karlheinz Schreiber on the sale of Airbus planes to the government owned airline during Mulroney's term as Prime Minister of Canada. The allegations were made in a letter sent by the RCMP to the government of Switzerland seeking access to banking records. Schreiber had earlier raised money for Mulroney's successful bid to win the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party. Mulroney denied the allegations and launched a $50 million defamation suit against the Canadian government alleging that the newly elected Liberal government of Jean Chrétien was engaging in a smear campaign against its predecessor.
The government settled out of court and agreed to publicly apologise to Mulroney as well as pay the former Prime Minister's $2 million legal fees.
Though there is no evidence that Mulroney accepted kickbacks while Prime Minister, it was acknowledged in 2003 that shortly after stepping down as prime minister in 1993, Mulroney accepted $300,000 over 18 months from Schreiber. Mulroney claims that this was to help promote a fresh pasta business and develop international contacts. Mulroney had previously denied accepting any commissions from Schreiber.
Journalist Stevie Cameron wrote about the Airbus scandal, and Schreiber's links to the Mulroney government, in her 1998 book On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years.
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