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The UK Serious Fraud Office has opened an investigation into defence company Thales over “serious allegations” of suspected bribery and corruption.
The SFO said on Thursday that the probe was being conducted jointly with France’s Parquet National Financier financial prosecutor and that the French-listed company had been informed it was under investigation.
Thales is headquartered in Paris and its UK subsidiary employs more than 7,000 staff in the UK at 16 sites. The group, which is partially owned by the French state, makes technology, sensors and software used in major defence programmes such as the Rafale fighter jet. It also provides technology for civilian aircraft.
Its facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland, makes missiles and launchers, including the shoulder-fired Starstreak missile that has been donated to Ukraine by the UK government. Thales also builds sonar systems for the Royal Navy’s submarines.
The case is the first investigation of a major public company opened under SFO director Nick Ephgrave, who took over the agency last year. The SFO has opened six investigations under Ephgrave but has faced criticism for not pursuing larger companies with more international operations.
“Working collaboratively with our international partners is a crucial factor in the fight against international corruption and with this case I hope to reinforce the SFO and PNF’s long-standing relationship,” Ephgrave said in a statement.
“We will together rigorously pursue every avenue in our investigation into these serious allegations,” he added.
Thales confirmed that the SFO and the PNF had begun an investigation “in relation to four of its entities in France and the UK. Thales is co-operating with the PNF in France and the SFO in the UK”.
“The group complies with all national and international regulations. As the investigation is ongoing, Thales will not comment further,” it said in a statement.
The news comes after the SFO shut down a four-year investigation of aircraft manufacturer Bombardier this week, deferring to probes in the US and Canada.
The SFO said in a statement that overseas authorities were “best placed to progress this case to its final stages” and that the agency would work with its counterparts in their investigations.
Additional reporting by Sarah White