The Agusta scandal (French: Affaire Agusta, Dutch: Agustaschandaal), alternatively known as the Agusta–Dassault Case, was a major political scandal which occurred in Belgium during the 1990s, based on allegations that two multinational companies had used bribery to secure large defence procurement contracts. The companies in question, Agusta and Dassault, bribed numerous political office-holders in 1988 in order to secure a large order of Agusta A109 helicopters and the contract for re-fitting Belgian F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets respectively. The scandal came to light during investigations into the death of the socialist politician André Cools in 1991 and an official enquiry was opened in 1993. Numerous senior figures in both Walloon and Flemish socialist parties were implicated, inc