Aerospace firm AAR settles US charges over bribing foreign officials

7:58 pm Thursday, December 19th, 2024

By Kanishka Singh and Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Global aerospace company AAR Corp agreed to resolve U.S. charges in connection with schemes to bribe Nepalese and South African officials, the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

AAR agreed to pay more than $55 million to resolve investigations by the Justice Department and the SEC into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits corrupt payments to foreign government officials, the Justice Department said.

Deepak Sharma, a former AAR subsidiary executive, pleaded guilty in August for his role in the Nepal scheme, and Julian Aires, a third-party agent of AAR, pleaded guilty in July for his role in the South Africa scheme.

AAR entered into an 18-month non-prosecution agreement with the Justice Department, the department said.

The company confirmed the settlement in a statement of its own that said it had cooperated with authorities during the probe. AAR added it expects to fund these payments using a combination of cash on hand and borrowings under its revolving credit facility.

Between 2015 and 2020, AAR conspired to pay bribes to government officials to obtain and retain business with state-owned airlines in Nepal and South Africa, the Justice Department said, citing the company’s admissions in connection with the resolution.

AAR obtained profits of nearly $24 million as a result of the scheme, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

In Nepal, AAR corruptly obtained business with Nepal Airlines Corporation, the state-owned airline of Nepal, related to the sale of two Airbus A330-200 aircraft by bribing Nepalese officials through various intermediary companies, the Justice Department said.

In South Africa, AAR obtained the award of an aircraft component support contract with South African Airways Technical, a wholly owned subsidiary of South African Airways, a state-owned airline, by paying bribes to South African officials through a third-party agent, according to the DOJ.

Lawyers for Sharma and representatives of Nepal Airlines and South African Airways did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Jasper Ward and Douglas Gillison; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Lincoln Feast.)