The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has arrested one individual following a dawn raid relating to a criminal investigation into the sale of bogus engine parts by AOG Technics.
SFO investigators, accompanied by officers from the National Crime Agency, also revealed that they had seized material from a site in Greater London and that one individual is currently being questioned.
Headquartered in the UK, AOG has supplied parts globally for the world’s best-selling passenger aircraft engine (the CF56) and most-used cargo aircraft engine (the CF6) since 2015. The parts were mostly sold to overseas companies that install airline parts, as well as some UK airlines, maintenance providers and parts suppliers.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued alerts earlier this year to aviation businesses who may have bought or installed AOG’s parts and continue to manage the safety implications involved. Some planes have been grounded in the UK and US.
The SFO says that it is working closely with the CAA and other regulators to examine the information obtained as it advances its criminal investigation into suspected fraud at this firm and determines whether there are grounds for prosecution.
“This investigation deals with very serious allegations of fraud involving the supply of aircraft parts, the consequences of which are potentially far reaching,” said Nick Ephgrave QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office. “The SFO is best placed to take this investigation forward vigorously and we are determined to establish the facts as swiftly as possible.”