Airbus SE, a publicly traded company on the Euro Stoxx 50 market, was based in the Netherlands and France. The company was organized into divisions, including the Commercial Division, which handled, among other things, the manufacture and sale of civilian aircraft to airlines, the Defense & Space Division, which handled, among other things, the manufacture and sale of military aircraft, satellites, unmanned aerial systems, and other products and services used by governmental agencies, and the Helicopters Division, which handled the manufacture and sale of helicopters and related equipment and services.
According to the documents in this case, beginning in at least 2008 and continuing until at least 2015, Airbus engaged in a wide-ranging bribery scheme in order to obtain business from both privately owned enterprises and state-owned entities. Specifically, the documents indicate that Airbus engaged in a bribery scheme in China between approximately 2013 and 2015. Airbus conspired with a business partner in China to make payments to the business partner that were intended to be used as bribes to government officials in China in connection with the purchase and sale of Airbus aircraft to state-owned and state-controlled airlines in China.
On January 28, 2020, the DOJ filed a two count Information in the District of Columbia against Airbus alleging a conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA as well as the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations ("ITAR"). On January 31, 2020, Airbus entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ with a term of three years. Under the terms of the settlement, Airbus agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $2,091,978,881 for the FCPA misconduct, which represented a 25% departure under the bottom of the sentencing guidelines range. Of that total criminal penalty, Airbus agreed to pay $294,488,085 to the U.S., and the DOJ credited the remaining $1,797,490,796 that was paid to the French Parquet National Financier as part of the company's settlement with that agency. Airbus also agreed to self-report to the DOJ for three years on the status of the company's enhanced anti-corruption compliance policies and procedures.
In addition to the FCPA sanctions, Airbus agreed to pay $232,736,390 plus a forfeiture of €50,000,000 (approximately $55 million) for the ITAR-related misconduct. Airbus' total sanctions for the misconduct detailed in this case, as well as further bribery alleged by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, amounted to €3,598 million (approximately $4 billion) to the French, U.K., and U.S. authorities.
