RTX Pays Taiwan US$160 Million Over Arms Price Gouging: MND.

Taipei: Taiwan's military on Wednesday announced it received a payment of NT$5.2 billion (US$159.86 million) from RTX, previously known as Raytheon Technologies Corp., after the defense contractor was found by the United States government to have engaged in price gouging, affecting Taiwan among other buyers. The payment, received on Tuesday, has been promptly transferred to the national treasury, according to a press statement from the Ministry of National Defense (MND).According to Focus Taiwan, the payment followed a settlement RTX reached in October with the U.S. government after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into the defense contractor's price gouging in foreign military sales. A DOJ press release on October 16 indicated that RTX would pay over US$950 million to resolve federal charges of defrauding the U.S. Department of Defense by overcharging for defense systems and bribing an official in Qatar to secure business from the Middle Eastern country's air force.Initially, the countries impacted by the incident were not disclosed. However, it has since been revealed that Taiwan was one of the affected buyers, having been overcharged for a radar system in 2013 and the Patriot missile system in 2017, a crucial element of Taiwan's surface-to-air defense. The MND has not disclosed the exact amount Taiwan overpaid RTX or the specific weapons systems involved.The MND's statement on Wednesday also emphasized that the government has requested the U.S. to conduct a thorough examination of all defense procurement deals involving RTX to ensure no further overpricing issues affect Taiwan.