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UK probes Bombardier over Garuda deal
“The SFO confirms it is investigating Bombardier Inc. over suspected bribery and corruption in relation to contracts and/or orders from Garuda Indonesia,” the agency said, adding that while it was a live investigation, it would not provide more comment.
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he United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating Canada-based airplane manufacturer Bombardier over suspected bribery and corruption related to past deals with Indonesia’s national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.
The SFO confirmed the ongoing investigation into Bombardier regarding its contracts with Garuda in a statement published on Thursday.
“The SFO confirms it is investigating Bombardier Inc. over suspected bribery and corruption in relation to contracts and/or orders from Garuda Indonesia,” the agency said, adding that while it was a live investigation, it would not provide more comment.
In May, the Jakarta Corruption Court sentenced former Garuda Indonesia president director Emirsyah Satar to eight years in prison after finding him guilty of accepting bribes and engaging in money laundering practices in connection with aircraft procurement, including from Bombardier.
The probed Bombardier procurement is the 2011 to 2012 acquisition and lease of Bombardier CRJ-1000 aircraft by Garuda Indonesia, according to Bombardier’s third-quarter financial report released on Thursday.
Garuda currently has 18 CRJ-1000 jets in its fleet, the airline's data show.
In Bombardier's financial report, the company also acknowledged the SFO investigation into its transaction with Garuda. It stated that the company had met with the UK agency to discuss the company’s internal review and potential assistance in the investigation.
It maintained that there had been no charges laid against Bombardier so far, including its directors, officers and employees. It has also launched an internal review conducted by an external counsel.
“The corporation has met with the SFO to discuss the status of the corporation’s internal review and its potential assistance with the SFO investigation on a voluntary basis. Both the SFO investigation and the internal review are ongoing,” the statement reads.
The Jakarta Corruption Court in May found Emirsyah guilty of accepting bribes amounting to Rp 49.3 billion (US$3.4 million) and laundering Rp 87.5 billion. The bribery case also involved British engineering company Rolls-Royce and European aerospace company Airbus.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir on Friday said the ministry was cooperating with the country’s law enforcement agencies, including the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on Garuda’s case. The Law and Human Rights Ministry is also aiding the ministry to revise its contracts through mutual legal assistance.
“We at the ministry fully support the law enforcement efforts conducted toward Garuda as it is part of our good corporate governance and transparency principle. We’ll continue to coordinate with the law enforcement agencies during the course of the investigation,” he said in a statement.
On a statement on Friday, Garuda president director Irfan Setiaputra stated that the company respected the legal process on Bombardier’s aircraft procurement in 2012 and was coordinating with law enforcement agencies.
“Garuda is actively coordinating with authorities to ensure our full support toward the law enforcement process,” Irfan said in a statement.
However, he confirmed to The Jakarta Post that the company had not yet had any contact with the SFO agency in connection with the authority’s investigation.
“No, we haven’t [been in contact with the SFO],” he said via a text message.
