The largest ever (€991m) UK Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) has been approved today (31 January 2020). Airbus has also reached a €2,083,137,455 settlement with the French Parquet National Financier and a €525,655,000 DPA with the US Department of Justice and US Department of State. The UK DPA and judgment have not yet been published but the key facts currently known are as follows:
- The UK DPA with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) covers five counts of failure to prevent bribery (contrary to Section 7 of the Bribery Act 2010) across five jurisdictions: Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Ghana between 2011 and 2015.
- The DPA comes four years after the SFO began investigating the company in relation to allegations that it had used external consultants to bribe customers to buy its civilian and military aircrafts.
- Airbus has agreed to pay a fine, disgorgement and costs amounting to €991m in the UK, which the judge said reflected the gravity of the conduct, the full cooperation of Airbus in the investigation, and the programme of corporate reform and compliance put in place by new leadership.
- The SFO investigation remains active and the position in relation to individuals is being considered.
We will be reporting in more detail once the DPA and judgment are published.