Friday 30 April 2021

Airbus Subsidiary Pleads Guilty in Saudi Arabia Bribery Case

LONDON (Bloomberg) — A unit of Airbus SE was fined a total £28.1 mln ($39 mln) after pleading guilty to one count of corruption as part of the U.K. prosecutor’s probe into work it carried out for the Saudi Arabian National Guard.

The Serious Fraud Office charged GPT Special Project Management Ltd. with corruption between 2007 and 2012 last year, which has since been reduced to a period between December 2008 and July 2010. The unit pleaded guilty and accepted both the £28.1 mln confiscation order and a £7.5 mln fine at a hearing Wednesday held at Southwark Crown Court. It was also ordered to pay £2.2 mln of the SFO’s legal costs within ten days.

The probe into contracts awarded to GPT for work carried out for the Persian Gulf country was opened in August 2012. GPT is a U.K. company and subsidiary of Airbus that operated in Saudi Arabia and ended operations in April 2020.

Forum posts

Stephen (30 April 2021, 18:08)

As usual, Airbus is using every dishonest means possible. There are not only subsidies, there are also bribes.

AntonyL (1 May 2021, 00:05)

When you bribe someone, you already pay...why do you have to pay a second time? That’s not fair !!!!!

Rousseau de Reims (1 May 2021, 00:23)

We don’t know whether Airbus paid a bribe to be selected or whether the client demanded money to select Airbus. In the second case, Airbus would be almost innocent to me.

Any message or comments?

Stephen (30 April 2021, 18:08)

As usual, Airbus is using every dishonest means possible. There are not only subsidies, there are also bribes.
AntonyL (1 May 2021, 00:05)

When you bribe someone, you already pay...why do you have to pay a second time? That’s not fair !!!!!
Rousseau de Reims (1 May 2021, 00:23)

We don’t know whether Airbus paid a bribe to be selected or whether the client demanded money to select Airbus. In the second case, Airbus would be almost innocent to me.