Mon 11 Jun 18 // Industry Integrity
Dear Director
Ensuring any enforcement action against Airbus meets fair justice standards
We are writing as concerned anti-corruption organisations that have seen the effect of corporate bribery on democracy, good governance, economic progress and security across the world.
We are aware of extensive media coverage about allegations of bribery involving Airbus. The allegations are egregious. They span over a decade and include at least 14 countries including Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, Austria, Tunisia, India, Poland, China, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Indonesia, Kuwait, Mauritius and Mali as well as implicating all business segments within Airbus, including aerospace and defence, commercial aerospace and helicopters. The media coverage has indicated that the SFO, PNF and DOJ are all investigating alleged wrongdoing. Other authorities around the world are also investigating these allegations, including in Austria, Kuwait, Poland and Sri Lanka.
We welcome the fact that the SFO and the PNF have set up a joint investigation team in this case with close coordination with the DOJ. The co-ordination of law enforcement activities in such cross-border and global alleged wrongdoing is essential. It helps to maximise use of law enforcement resources and ensure that investigators and prosecutors are aware of the full facts of potential wrongdoing when making enforcement decisions.
We are writing to ask you to ensure that any enforcement action against Airbus, whether a settlement or other form of action, meets standards that would ensure justice is achieved and that the harm caused by any wrongdoing is properly assessed and compensated for. We would encourage you to give careful consideration to the full range of enforcement options available, including prosecution. In particular, we ask you to ensure that:
While we have focused on Airbus as it represents a clear example of a global multijurisdictional investigation into widespread wrongdoing, we believe that these are principles that should apply to all such egregious cases. We look forward to your response to our recommendations. We have sent the same letter to the PNF and the DOJ.
Yours sincerely,
Katherine Dixon
Director
Transparency International – Defence and Security
Kathryn Higgs
Director
Business Integrity Programme, Transparency International UK
Andrew Feinstein Executive Director Corruption Watch (UK)
Shruti Shah
Acting President and CEO Coalition for Integrity (USA)
Franceline Lepany
President
Sherpa
Achraf Aouadi
Director
Iwatch (Tunisia)
Asoka Obeyesekere
Director
Transparency International Sri Lanka
Adnan Topan Husado
Coordinator
Indonesia Corruption Watch
CC. Eliane Houlette
Procureure du Parquet National Financier
Parquet National Financier
France
Daniel Kahn
Head of FCPA Unit
Department of Justice Fraud Section
US
Drago Kos
Chair
Working Group on Bribery
OECD
TI Defence & Security