The defense group, already implicated on suspicion of corruption, was raided this week in several European countries as part of two investigations into the sale of military equipment abroad.
Searches were carried out from Wednesday to Friday at the headquarters of various Thales companies in France, the Netherlands and Spain, a judicial source told AFP. According to this source, these operations “intervene in the context of two preliminary investigations relating in particular to acts of corruption and influence peddling of foreign public officials”Both investigations concern the sale of military equipment abroad.
“The first, opened at the end of 2016, notably on charges of corruption of a foreign public official, private corruption, criminal association and money laundering of these offences, concerns the sale of submarines and the construction of a naval base in Brazil.”specified the judicial source.
During an official visit by Nicolas Sarkozy to Rio de Janeiro in 2008, France and Brazil signed a contract for the sale of four conventionally powered Scorpène submarines, for a sum estimated at the time at 5.2 billion euros. These submarines were to integrate Thales components. Three of them have already been delivered.
A second part of the partnership aimed to build a new naval base and submarine construction site in Itaguaí, inaugurated in 2018. According to the judicial source, the second investigation, which had not been revealed until then, was opened in June 2023.
«Regulations»
It concerns in particular suspicions of corruption and influence peddling of foreign public officials, private corruption, criminal association, money laundering and concealment of these offences, in the context of “various operations for the sale of military and civilian equipment abroad”. According to the judicial source, according to whom the “investigations continue”the operations “were carried out by 65 investigators from OCLCIFF, 12 magistrates from the PNF, with the collaboration of the Dutch and Spanish judicial authorities, and the coordination of Eurojust”.
“Thales confirms that searches took place. The group cooperates with the competent authoritiesthe company reacted Saturday evening to AFP. Thales points out that it strictly complies with national and international regulations. The company has developed and implemented a global compliance program (…) that meets the highest industry standards.”
Thales, one of the world’s leading defence groups specialising in equipment for aerospace, security, defence and land transport, is already the target of suspicions of corruption. A Paris investigating judge will soon decide whether to follow the demands of the PNF, which has requested a trial for Thales, DCNI (a subsidiary of Naval Group), three former executives and an intermediary for suspicions of corruption in the sale of submarines to Malaysia in 2002.
