Airbus investigation exposes corruption risks with third parties

Commenting on the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opening a new investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption at Airbus, Katherine Dixon Director of Transparency International Defence and Security Programme said:

“The use of agents is one of the biggest corruption risks across the defence and aerospace sector, and Airbus is just one of a long line of companies that have run into trouble. The failure of Airbus to declare its agents highlights the weakness of self-disclosure requirements and why governments can and should use export policies to reduce the influence of corrupt middlemen.”

“The Airbus case demonstrates the need for more consistent transparency requirements in export policies around the use and payment of agents.”

Last month Transparency International issued a report highlighting the risks in the use of middlemen in defence deals. “Licence to Bribe? Reducing corruption risks around the use of agents in defence procurement” showed that 90% of companies assessed by TI, fail to provide evidence of regular due diligence over the use of agents.

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