In 2016, RUAG bought 100 used Leopard 1 tanks with spare parts from the Italian army for 4.5 million euros. In 2023, the company wanted to sell 96 vehicles still stored in Italy to Rheinmetall; after refurbishment in Germany, they were to go to Ukraine. On 28 June 2023, the Federal Council rejected the required trading application. There was also a dispute over ownership of 25 vehicles previously sold to the German company GLS. The Swiss Federal Audit Office examined the management of the transactions and found shortcomings in their handling. From 2017 to 2022, RUAG Switzerland sold a total of 22 Leopard 2 transmissions through Germany’s RUAG GmbH to a German business partner. The Federal Audit Office found indications of sales below value, altered invoices and payments to a company associated with a manager at the time. Investigations into giving and receiving bribes had been underway in Germany since 2022. The Audit Office’s 2025 report described suspicions and interim findings. In July 2020, RUAG acquired used Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 spare parts from the Dutch state for 4.5 million euros. A large proportion was resold to a business partner through the German subsidiary. In 2025, the Audit Office reported substantial valuation differences and indications of profits outside the RUAG Group. In another transaction, 17 Leopard 2 gun barrels were handed over to the German business partner free of charge. Transfers of ownership and their economic justification were under investigation. On 28 May 2025, the federal authorities announced that RUAG could sell 71 of the Leopard 1s still stored in Italy to Germany without a licence. The exemption concerns trading in goods located abroad. Onward transfer of the tanks, components or accessories to Ukraine was contractually excluded. A purchase option existed for the remaining 25 vehicles once ownership was clarified. On 10 June 2025, RUAG announced the sale of the 71 tanks and spare parts to Rheinmetall Landsysteme. On 30 January 2026, the Council of States’ Control Committee criticised oversight of RUAG MRO: the Department of Defence had not examined a 2019 tip-off critically enough, while the Federal Council had incorporated compliance requirements into the strategic objectives too late and had insufficiently questioned overly positive company reports.