Britain's Serious Fraud Office has launched a formal investigation into suspected fraud, bribery and corruption in connection with commercial plane sales by Airbus, parent company Airbus Group said on Sunday. A UK government agency this year suspended the issue of export credits to Airbus, citing discrepancies in declarations by the plane maker on the use of third-party intermediaries during jet sale negotiations. The agency, UK Export Finance, had said it was referring the discrepancies to the SFO, which would decide whether to launch a criminal investigation. "Airbus Group has been informed by the SFO that it has opened a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption in the civil aviation business of Airbus Group relating to irregularities concerning third party consultants," the company said in a statement. "Airbus Group continues to cooperate with the SFO."<br/>
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Iran intends to purchase 20 regional jets from Japan's Mitsubishi Corp, according to Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan, deputy minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. The Mehr News agency quoted Fakhrieh Kashan on Sunday as saying that the deal was likely to be finalised when a Japanese delegation visits Tehran in December. The aircraft will be acquired through a lease-purchase contract and will be used by Aseman Airlines on domestic routes, Fakhrieh Khashan said. The lifting of long-standing economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear activities has allowed it to strike provisional deals worth around $50b with Boeing and Airbus to buy some 200 airliners to renew its ageing fleet. However, financial and political obstacles have continued to dog the deals, and Iran has made clear it is widening its search to include other suppliers. The Mitsubishi Regional Jet, Japan's first commercial airplane in half a century, will seat just under 100 people and is being developed by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.<br/>
Black Lives Matter UK campaigners blocked roads leading to London's largest airport as part of a series of nationwide protests Friday. Some transport routes in other British cities came to a standstill, with demonstrators chaining themselves together in Birmingham and Nottingham. More protests were planned in Manchester. The UK-wide protests mark five years since 29-year-old black man Mark Duggan was shot and killed by police in north London. His death sparked riots across the capital and other British cities. "In the UK, families have in some cases been waiting decades to find out what's happened to their loved ones who have died in custody, or to get a straight answer -- even where wrongdoing has been found to be by police officers," Black Lives Matter UK spokesman Wail Qasim, 23, told CNN. "So this demonstration comes after a decade-long struggle and it's to highlight what's happening." Starting around 8:20 a.m. (3:20 a.m. ET), several demonstrators began chaining themselves together and lying across the M4 motorway leading to Heathrow Airport beneath a banner reading: "This is a crisis." Ten people were arrested, said London's Metropolitan Police.<br/>
Bombardier swung to a Q2 net loss as business jet revenue fell on lower production. The Montreal-based plane and train maker posted a net loss of US$490m for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of US$125m a year earlier. Consolidated revenue fell 6.7% to US$4.31b. While revenue from commercial aircraft was up 28% at US$764m, business aircraft revenue was down 19% at $1.47b as it scaled back production. The company delivered 27 commercial and 42 business aircraft in the three months. During the quarter Bombardier agreed a US$1b investment by the Government of Quebec in return for a 49.5% equity stake in a newly created limited partnership. Brazil said last month it may launch a trade challenge against Canada over state funding of the CSeries.<br/>