Bombardier falls as UK investigates ‘suspected bribery’

Bombardier fell after the UK’s Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it was investigating the company over “suspected bribery and corruption.” The probe involves the company’s dealings with Garuda Indonesia, the SFO said Thursday. The airline ordered Bombardier CRJ regional jets, with the first delivery in 2012. “As this is a live investigation, the SFO can provide no further comment,” the SFO said. Indonesia’s anti-corruption agency last year detained Garuda’s former head as part of a probe into procurement of aircraft and engines. The SFO inquiry adds a new complication for CEO Eric Martel’s attempt to remake Bombardier as a builder of private jets after the company sold its CRJ business to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, unloaded a commercial-jet program to Airbus and agreed to merge its rail unit with Alstom. Before trading opened, the Montreal-based company reported a wider-than-expected loss for Q3 and said it had begun an internal review by outside counsel into its transactions with Garuda. Bombardier said the review was launched shortly after an Indonesian court convicted Garuda’s former head and his associate of corruption and money laundering in May. The charges were in connection with five procurement processes involving different manufacturers, including the 2011-2012 acquisition and lease of Bombardier CRJ1000 aircraft by Garuda, Bombardier said. No charges were laid against Bombardier or any of its directors, officers or employees. The company said it understands that the SFO’s investigation involves the same transactions. <br/>