The UK SFO investigating suspected bribery and corruption at Thales, the aviation and defence electronics group.
21/11/2024
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has launched an investigation into suspected bribery and corruption at Thales, a multinational aviation and defence electronics group.
The Thales Group is headquartered in Paris, and its subsidiary, Thales UK, employs over 7,000 staff across 16 sites in the UK.
Thales specialises in defence electronics and built the 650 Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs) that the UK announced in September it would supply to Ukraine in a £162 million order.
The lightweight weapons, manufactured at one of Thales’ plants in Belfast, are designed for short-range fire and can hit targets up to about six kilometres away in the air and on the ground.
Thales also won a £1.8 billion UK defence contract in February. The contract will see it maintain the Royal Navy’s fleet of ships and submarines for the next 15 years.
A Thales spokesperson said:
- “Thales confirms that the SFO and the PNF have commenced an investigation in relation to four of its entities in France and the UK.
- “Thales is co-operating with the PNF in France and the SFO in the UK. The group complies with all national and international regulations.
- “As the investigation is ongoing, Thales will not comment further.”
Investigators from the SFO and French authority Parquet National Financier (PNF) have informed the company of the investigation.
The SFO and PNF are conducting a joint investigation in their respective jurisdictions.
Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Nick Ephgrave QPM, said:
- “Working collaboratively with our international partners is a crucial factor in the fight against international corruption and
- with this case I hope to reinforce the SFO and PNF’s long-standing relationship, built on mutual cooperation and shared success.
- “We will together rigorously pursue every avenue in our investigation into these serious allegations.”
Source
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/thales-under-investigation-suspected-bribery-170328102.html
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