Airbus Group NV said Wednesday the UK Serious Fraud Office questioned some of its employees as part of an investigation into possible corruption at a subsidiary.
“Airbus Group understands that four former and current employees were recently interviewed — along with [Ministry of Defense] officials — as part of a wide ranging SFO investigation into subsidiary GPT,” an Airbus spokesperson said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg.
The SFO didn’t identify Airbus. It said in a statement that a search warrant was executed “and a number of arrests have been made.”
Airbus was formerly known as European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., or EADS.
Two years ago, the SFO launched an investigation after a former employee of Britain-based GPT Special Project Management Ltd reportedly said the company gave Saudi Arabian officials cars, jewellery, and cash to win a £2 billion communications contract.
Lieutenant Colonel Ian Foxley, the GPT whistlebower, claimed he was fired after raising concerns about the possibility of bribes changing hands.
GPT’s £2 billion ($3.4 billion) contract was for an upgrade to the satellite and intranet systems of the Saudi National Guard, a force of about 125,000 that protects the royal family.
Foxley reportedly told the SFO that Saudi officials were given the gifts by middlemen.
In August 2012, the SFO released a statement that said: “The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has decided to open a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.
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