The UK Serious Fraud Office has arrested four former and current Airbus staff, as part of a long-running investigation into alleged corruption in a subsidiary of the company operating in Saudi Arabia. The four staff understood to have worked for Airbus’s GPT division, which supplies communications equipment.
A further three people who do not work for Airbus are also understood to have been questioned in relation to the corruption allegations. All seven have since been released on bail.
The arrests, which took place over the weekend, relate to a contract with Saudi Arabia which GPT began in the late 1970s. GPT – which was taken over by Airbus in 2007 – was the prime contractor on the project which was a “government to government” arrangement between the Ministry of Defence and the Saudi military. GPT was taken over by Airbus in 2007.
As a result of the allegations, Airbus commissioned auditors PwC to carry out an internal audit to discover whether improper payments were made relating to GPT. The investigation concluded there was no evidence of them being made and passed the findings to the SFO in March 2012.
In a statement, the SFO said: “In connection with a Serious Fraud Office investigation, we can confirm that a search warrant has been executed and a number of arrests have been made. Officers from the National Crime Agency assisted the SFO with its operation.”
Airbus stated that “Airbus Group understands that four former and current employees were recently interviewed under caution as part of a wide-ranging SFO investigation into subsidiary GPT.”