A London court today approved a record €991m (£833m) fine for Airbus in exchange for suspending the prosecution of alleged bribery. Airbus has agreed to pay France €2.08bn and the US €525m to bring to a close a four-year probe into bribery at the European aerospace giant. Allison Clare, a barrister for the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), told a crowded courtroom at the Royal Courts of Justice that Airbus had been accused of five counts of failure to prevent bribery, which were now suspended for three years. The fine consisted of a disgorgement of profits of €585m and a financial penalty of €398m. The allegations related to an Airbus department which worked with overseas agents which it paid for successful aircraft sales. Lisa Osofsky, director of the SFO, said: “Airbus paid bribes through agents around the world to stack the decks in its favour and win contracts around the globe. Corruption like this undermines free trade and fair development and it is to Airbus’s credit that it has admitted its culpability, cleaned its house and come forward to put this conduct to bed.” Clare said that one of the reasons that charges had been suspended was the “exemplary, genuine and proactive cooperation by Airbus” with prosecutors. Ross Dixon, partner at Hickman & Rose, said: “The jury is still out as to whether DPAs are fair to the individuals who are blamed in these deals. “Not a single person has been convicted in any of the five DPAs to have so far completed the criminal justice process, giving rise to serious concern that individuals are unfairly blamed and thrown under the bus by a company keen to avoid prosecution itself.” Last year the SFO dropped its investigation into individual executives at Rolls Royce after it agreed a £497m DPA with the engine-maker. Barry Vitou, London head of white collar crime at law firm Greenberg Traurig, said: “It’s significant because it’s a three-way investigation by regulators in three countries and importantly a co-ordinated resolution. “I think it’s a feather in the cap for each of the three countries.” Aziz Rahman, senior Partner at business crime solicitors Rahman Ravelli, said: “This one can be seen as a quick, big win for the SFO which, under director Lisa Osofsky, is looking to close investigations as quickly as possible.” DPAs are not universally loved, with some arguing they allow corporations to evade proper accountability for wrongdoing.
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