Airbus Agrees Record-Breaking €3.6 Billion Settlement To Avoid Prosecution

On 31 January 2020, Airbus SE (Airbus) reached final agreements with the French Parquet National Financier (PNF), the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) in order to resolve investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption. The agreement reached with the U.S. authorities also resolves investigations by the DoJ and the State Department into inaccurate and misleading filings made by Airbus with the State Department pursuant to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

Under the agreements, which are the largest ever entered into by the PNF and the SFO, Airbus will pay a total of €3.598 billion plus interest and costs to the French, U.K. and U.S. authorities to avoid prosecution. That figure equated to $3,986,888,000 and £3,021,956,000 on 31 January 2020.