Aircraft company Airbus has agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $3.9 billion to resolve foreign bribery charges with authorities in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. It is the largest settlement arising from bribery charges ever.
The Department of Justice said in a statement that the charges stem from the company’s scheme to use third-party business partners to bribe government officials, as well as non-governmental airline executives, around the world and to resolve the company’s violation of the Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
Airbus entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DoJ in connection with a criminal information filed on Jan. 28, 2020 in the District of Columbia charging the Company with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and conspiracy to violate the AECA.
The FCPA charge arose out of Airbus’s scheme to offer and pay bribes to foreign officials, including Chinese officials, in order to obtain and retain business, including contracts to sell aircraft. The AECA charge stems from Airbus’s willful failure to disclose political contributions, commissions or fees to the U.S. government, as required under the ITAR, in connection with the sale or export of defense articles and defense services to the Armed Forces of a foreign country or international organization.
“Airbus engaged in a multi-year and massive scheme to corruptly enhance its business interests by paying bribes in China and other countries and concealing those bribes,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This coordinated resolution was possible thanks to the dedicated efforts of our foreign partners at the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom and the PNF in France. The Department will continue to work aggressively with our partners across the globe to root out corruption, particularly corruption that harms American interests.”
The Settlement
For the FCPA-related conduct, the department reached this resolution with Airbus based on a number of factors, including the Company’s cooperation and remediation. In addition, for the FCPA-related conduct, the U.S. resolution recognizes the strength of France’s and the United Kingdom’s interests over the Company’s corruption-related conduct, as well as the compelling equities of France and the United Kingdom to vindicate their respective interests as those countries deem appropriate, and the department has taken into account these countries’ determination of the appropriate resolution into all aspects of the U.S. resolution.
For the FCPA-related conduct, the DoJ reached this resolution with Airbus based on a number of factors, including the company’s cooperation and remediation.
As part of the deferred prosecution agreement with the department, Airbus has agreed to continue to cooperate with the department in any ongoing investigations and prosecutions relating to the conduct, including of individuals, and to enhance its compliance program. 