The British Serious Fraud Office has launched a joint investigation with the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office into the Thales group, suspected of corruption and influence peddling. This investigation, announced Thursday, November 21, affects several entities of the defense giant.
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The British authority for combating financial crime, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), announces Thursday, November 21, 2024, the opening of an investigation into suspicions of corruption within the French high-tech group Thales. This survey is carried out in collaboration with the Parquet national financier (PNF) French.
Nick Ephgrave, director of the SFO, said: “We will study together and rigorously all possible avenues as part of our investigation into these serious allegations.” without providing further details on the purposes of the investigations.
Thales confirmed that the PNF and SFO are investigating four of its entities located in France and the United Kingdom, while affirming that it complies with all national and international regulations. The company has chosen not to make further comments at this time according to AFP.
Based in Paris, Thales employs more than 7,000 people across 16 sites in the UK. According to judicial sources, the investigation was opened by the PNF in July 2024 for accusations of corruption of a foreign public official, influence peddling, as well as concealment and money laundering, again according to the French press agency. According to the French press agency. This investigation targets in particular an arms contract signed by Thales in Asia.
Investigations are carried out as part of a joint investigation team with the SFO, coordinated by Eurojust. It is important to note that this procedure is separate from the searches carried out at the end of June in France, the Netherlands and Spain, which were part of two investigations opened respectively in 2016 and 2023 on the sale of military equipment abroad.
The PNF also opened a preliminary investigation in May 2023 to determine whether Thales had used corruption to obtain a fighter jet renovation contract. Mirage-2000 in India. In addition, another investigation, begun in December 2020, examines the transfer of a former Thales employee to a position atUnited Nations (UN)which is one of the group's clients.
