Airbus enters into historic global resolution of bribery and corruption allegations

On 31 January 2020, multinational aerospace corporation Airbus SE entered into settlement agreements with the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, the French Parquet National Financier and the US Department of Justice and Department of State, concluding a four-year investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption.

As part of the global resolution, Airbus agreed to pay a total of €3.6 billion in penalties to the four authorities, making it the world’s highest-value corporate corruption settlement. The penalties reflected the nature of the conduct, the full cooperation of Airbus SE in the investigation, and the programme of corporate reform and compliance put in place by new leadership at the company.

James Lewis QC represented the Serious Fraud Office. Hugo Keith QC represented Airbus SE and Rachel Scott was engaged as one of the Company’s lawyers.

Click here to read reports of the global resolution in the UK media.

31st January 2020