On 30th July 2020 the Serious Fraud Office brought charges against GPT Special Project Management Ltd and three individuals in connection with its investigation into allegations concerning the conduct of GPT’s business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Investigation | Rosenblatt’s Financial Crime Team
GPT Special Project Management Ltd (“GPT”) is a UK subsidiary of Europe’s largest aerospace multinational, Airbus. It along with three men are being prosecuted over alleged corruption in an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
The investigation started after one of GPT’s employees blew the whistle on the transaction in relation to the awarding of contracts carried out for Saudi Arabia’s National Guard between January 2007 and December 2012.
The former managing director and the financial officer of GPT have been charged in relation to these transactions and another individual has been charged with aiding and abetting the offence.
Airbus shut down GPT last year. For years, it had operated with only one contract – a £2 billion contract from the MoD to provide communications and electronic warfare equipment to the Saudi national guard. That contract was run under an official agreement between Britain and the Saudi government with payments needing to be approved by the UK MoD.
Airbus itself reached a settlement this year with prosecutors in the UK and other countries in which it paid £3 billion in penalties over corruption allegations.
Criminal Prosecutions | Rosenblatt’s Financial Crime Team Explains
These individuals are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 14th September 2020 facing charges of corruption and other related offences between January 2007 and December 2012.
Rosenblatt can help
Rosenblatt has a wealth of experience in financial crime and is uniquely placed to support clients’ that are the subject of a Serious Fraud Office investigation and prosecution having being involved in high profile investigations into a global pharmaceuticals company, a multi-million pound affordable property investment scheme, a multi-million pound pension fraud scheme and a world leading global security company.
