Airbus for years conducted a “massive scheme to offer and pay bribes”, involving very senior executives, according to disclosures in courts in Washington DC, Paris and London, as Europe’s aerospace champion agreed to pay €3.6 billion in penalties to regulators in France, the UK and the US. French prosecutors said the company had boosted profits by €1 billion as a result of violations uncovered in their investigation. The details emerged as courts in the three countries approved the deferred prosecution settlement struck with regulators in France, the UK and US. Airbus will pay €2.1 billion to France, €983 million to the UK and about €530 million to the US. During the investigations, Airbus handed over some 30 million documents to authorities, while employees around the world were interrogated and computers confiscated.

Source: The Irish Times January 31, 2020 19:52 UTC