Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) wrote to the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the UK on 6 March 2020, posing a series of queries pertaining to Sri Lanka’s entitlement to compensation in the €3.6bn settlement reached with Airbus SE.
This letter forms part of TISL’s ongoing work to aid in the recovery of the $116m loss incurred by SriLankan Airlines as a result of the corrupt re-fleeting deal with Airbus SE.
TISL had previously written a joint letter to the SFO, the Parquet National Financier in France and the US Department of Justice in June 2018, flagging allegations of corruption in Airbus SE’s conduct and highlighting the need to ensure compensation for those harmed by any wrongdoing.
In the letter to the SFO Director last week, TISL highlights the UK’s “General Principles to compensate overseas victims (including affected States) in bribery, corruption and economic crime cases”. TISL believes that Sri Lanka has a legitimate demand to compensation in this instance.
the office’s investigation has now resulted in a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with Airbus SE wherein the aircraft manufacturer has agreed to pay a fine and costs amounting to €991m in the UK
In this letter, Asoka Obeyesekere, Executive Director,Transparency International Sri Lanka noted that, In the context of the clear evidence of bribes being paid by Airbus SE and its agents to actors affiliated to SriLankan Airlines to influence the procurement of aircraft and the $116m in cancellation costs that the state-owned airline was subsequently straddled with many issues
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