AOG Technics director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala has been convicted of fraud due to his role in the company's bogus CFM56 parts scandal in 2023, the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced on Monday (December 1).
Yrala pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court — ahead of trial — to operating his company for a fraudulent purpose. He will appear again at court on February 23, 2026 for sentencing.
AOG Technics had sold aircraft engine parts with forged documentation, which were then fitted to Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s. The documentation had falsified the origin and status of the engine parts.
"This significant and audacious fraud threatened trust in the aviation industry and risked public safety on a global scale," said SFO director of operations Emma Luxton.
Aircraft were grounded in 2023 after various global aviation authorities issued safety alerts to airlines that may have bought or installed parts from AOG Technics.
The company's customers included airlines, MROs, and engine parts suppliers.
“I’m extremely proud that we’ve acted swiftly to secure this conviction and wish to thank law enforcement partners in Portugal for their speedy and critical assistance,” said Luxton.
The SFO launched an investigation in October 2023 into the supply of suspected fraudulent safety certifications and parts, working with Portuguese authorities. The Portuguese investigation is ongoing.
In December 2023, the SFO said it had arrested one individual following a dawn raid in relation to the bogus parts operation.
SFO investigators, accompanied by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA), also revealed that they had seized material from a site in Greater London.
Following the scandal, the Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition was formed in February 2024, made up senior executives from Airbus, American Airlines, Boeing, Delta Air Lines, GE Aerospace, Safran, StandardAero, and United Airlines.
“We were able to stop a rogue actor and quarantine the parts [in 2023] thanks to swift action from the aviation industry, but more is needed to stop anyone who tries to take a shortcut in the future,” said the coalition's co-chair and former US National Transportation Safety Board chairman Robert Sumwalt.
The launch of the coalition was welcomed by the industry, with many specialists highlighting the need for safety and collaboration in the sector.
However, some warned of potential unintended consequences that could restrict legitimate used service materials (USM) parts, particularly in the engine space.
In 2023, Safran CEO Olivier Andries had estimated in his company's third-quarter earnings that around 145 engines had been impacted by the suspected parts — less than 1% of CFM engines at the time.