Aviation giant Airbus settles €16 million fine to halt corruption investigation

A Paris court has approved an agreement under which airplane manufacturer Airbus will pay €15.9 million in penalties to end a corruption probe focusing on sales to Libya and Kazakhstan over a decade ago.

File photo shows vapour forming across the wings of an Airbus A380 as it performs a demonstration flight at the Paris Air Show. The airplane manufacturer is due to pay over €15million to end a ten-year corruption investigation. AP - Francois Mori

In a statement released on Wednesday, French prosecutors said the agreement comes as an extension to a previous deal in 2020 that led Airbus to pay a record fine of €3.6 billion to France, the United States and Britain.

Prosecutors from France's financial crime unit added that the decision focuses on bribery in relation to the sale of commercial aircraft, helicopters and satellites to Libya and Kazakhstan – mostly between 2006 and 2011 – following the same formula used during the first investigation that led to the 2020 deal.

At the time, French lawyers said the agreement was unprecedented because of its scale and the fact that it had been arranged with three countries.

Airbus Pays 15.9 mn Euros to Close French Corruption Probe
Prosecutors from France's national financial crime unit (PNF), which reached the deal with Airbus earlier this month, said the fine was "fair and appropriate". https://t.co/WWEKwuRuI1 pic.twitter.com/n3a6KdbDZJ

— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) November 30, 2022

'Bribes and false information'

For its part, Airbus has said that the new agreement covers “past matters relating to the use of intermediaries in sales campaigns prior to 2012”.

The company added that it has taken “significant steps since 2016 to reform itself by implementing a benchmark compliance system underpinned by an unwavering commitment to integrity and continuous improvement”.

• Airbus settles corruption charges with record-breaking settlement
• Airbus pays €81-million fine to end German corruption probe

The 2020 agreement was reached after federal prosecutors in the US alleged that Airbus ran a years-long corruption campaign across the world, using bribes and falsely reporting information for more than five years to gain valuable licenses to export US military technology.

British and French authorities were investigating allegations of fraud and bribery related to Airbus’ use of outside consultants to sell planes.

The authorities in the US also launched a probe into Airbus’ compliance with American arms trafficking regulations.