Airbus says French probe shows firm's compliance working

Airbus CE Tom Enders said on Friday he was not surprised by a French decision to investigate Airbus plane sales and said the firm had shown the effectiveness of its compliance rules by uncovering irregularities. The French authorities on Thursday opened a preliminary investigation into suspected irregularities over the use of third-party agents to win contracts, expanding a UK corruption probe. "This is the result of us self-reporting on observations made on irregularities with respect to business partners," Enders said, adding that the discovery of the irregularities was not a new development. "Not surprisingly they have decided to launch an investigation," he said of the French decision. He said uncovering the irregularities showed "very intensive company investigations" in line with Airbus's compliance codes.<br/>