Airbus bribery scandal triggers new probes worldwide
Fallout from the Airbus bribery scandal reverberated around the world on Monday as the head of one of its top buyers temporarily stood down and investigations were launched in countries aggrieved at being dragged into the increasingly political row. Airbus agreed on Friday to pay a record $4b in fines after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors in Britain, France and US over alleged bribery and corruption stretching back at least 15 years. Now, it is bracing for a rocky period with airlines and foreign governments, some of which have complained they were not forewarned about the charges and claimed little knowledge of the sums of money swirling around their fleet purchases. “Friday was the end of Act I, now we are seeing the beginning of Act II with possible repercussions on airline relationships,” said a person close to the company. Airbus declined to comment further after welcoming the agreement on Friday as an opportunity to “turn the page”. Prosecution documents agreed by Airbus detailed a global network of agents or middlemen in transactions across the group’s business and run from a cell in Paris where the group had part of its headquarters, split between France and Germany. Outlines of the operation and its annual budget of E250m-300m had been reported by Reuters. Prosecutors also cited parallel projects or investments alongside some negotiations, including the sponsorship by Airbus’ then-parent EADS of a Formula 1 team owned by top officials at AirAsia, a major customer. In Ghana, a political storm erupted over accusations of Airbus payments to a relative of a government official in connection with the purchase of military transport planes. In Colombia, airline Avianca said it had hired a law firm to investigate its relationship with Airbus and determine if it had been a victim of wrongdoing. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered a full investigation after Britain’s SFO reported that Airbus had hired the wife of a SriLankan Airlines executive as its intermediary in connection with aircraft negotiations.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2020-02-04/general/airbus-bribery-scandal-triggers-new-probes-worldwide
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Airbus bribery scandal triggers new probes worldwide
Fallout from the Airbus bribery scandal reverberated around the world on Monday as the head of one of its top buyers temporarily stood down and investigations were launched in countries aggrieved at being dragged into the increasingly political row. Airbus agreed on Friday to pay a record $4b in fines after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors in Britain, France and US over alleged bribery and corruption stretching back at least 15 years. Now, it is bracing for a rocky period with airlines and foreign governments, some of which have complained they were not forewarned about the charges and claimed little knowledge of the sums of money swirling around their fleet purchases. “Friday was the end of Act I, now we are seeing the beginning of Act II with possible repercussions on airline relationships,” said a person close to the company. Airbus declined to comment further after welcoming the agreement on Friday as an opportunity to “turn the page”. Prosecution documents agreed by Airbus detailed a global network of agents or middlemen in transactions across the group’s business and run from a cell in Paris where the group had part of its headquarters, split between France and Germany. Outlines of the operation and its annual budget of E250m-300m had been reported by Reuters. Prosecutors also cited parallel projects or investments alongside some negotiations, including the sponsorship by Airbus’ then-parent EADS of a Formula 1 team owned by top officials at AirAsia, a major customer. In Ghana, a political storm erupted over accusations of Airbus payments to a relative of a government official in connection with the purchase of military transport planes. In Colombia, airline Avianca said it had hired a law firm to investigate its relationship with Airbus and determine if it had been a victim of wrongdoing. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered a full investigation after Britain’s SFO reported that Airbus had hired the wife of a SriLankan Airlines executive as its intermediary in connection with aircraft negotiations.<br/>
