In Focus Risk
Airbus: the great escape?
Regulators around the globe are making a stand against findings of wrongdoing, but how do political influences play in?
Aziz Rahman Senior partner, Rahman Ravelli
It has been a long time coming, but Airbus’ announcement, last month, that it had agreed settlements with French, British, and US authorities over investigations into alleged wrongdoing should have come as no great surprise to anyone. The aerospace group was happy to declare
that it has reached agreement in principle with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), France’s Parquet National Financier, and US authorities over allegations relating to bribery and corruption and compliance with the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The allegations surround the use of certain middlemen in plane sales.
The SFO, followed by its French
counterpart, opened investigations into Airbus after the firm reported itself in 2016.
Fines Airbus is expected to pay a total of £3bn in fines, subject to the agreement being approved by the courts in the UK, France, and US. At the time of writing, court hearings are scheduled for 31 January in all three countries. Those with a keen eye for such things
had predicted fines of that sort of size so it was always going to be a surprise if any deal did not dwarf the £671m Rolls-Royce paid three years ago to settle its aerospace
The firm has certainly attempted to do all it can to achieve that: senior executives have been removed, its ethics and compliance procedures have been reviewed and revised, and it has reduced the number of third parties it uses in deals
bribery allegations. But Airbus’ settlements leave a lot of people very keen to see what happens next.
Deferred prosecution agreements Prior to this agreement with Airbus, the SFO’s track record stood at six deferred prosecution agreements (DPA) concluded with companies since 2015, with no senior executives from those companies ever having been convicted. In Rolls-Royce’s case, none were even
charged in relation to its bribery. No doubt those at Airbus will rest easy
if its past and present personnel enjoy the same outcome. The firm has certainly attempted to do
all it can to achieve that: senior executives have been removed, its ethics and compliance procedures have been reviewed and revised, and it has reduced the number of third parties it uses in deals.
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www.CCRMagazine.com February 2020
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