European aerospace giant Airbus said Tuesday that it has reached an "agreement in principle" with French, British and US authorities over corruption investigations, which might help it avoid expensive litigation. Airbus has been the subject of corruption probes in all three countries and said it released the statement in response to press reports.
The Financial Times reported Monday that Airbus, which employs 134,000 staff and contributes significantly to the economic output of its major backers France and Germany, might have to pay more than 3.0 billion euros ($3.3 billion) to settle the corruption probes.
The affair began as an internal investigation and was a factor in a more than year-long executive shake-up at Airbus that ended in April 2019 when Guillaume Faury replaced Tom Enders as chief executive.
The United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and its French equivalent, the PNF, told AFP Tuesday that they would not comment on the statement or report. "These agreements are made in the context of investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption as well as compliance with the US International Traffic in Arms Regulations," Airbus said.
"They remain subject to approval by French and UK courts and (the) US court and regulator." The amount of the potential settlement is roughly equivalent to the group's 2018 net profit. Airbus is to release its 2019 results on February 13, when the company may provide more detail on the affair's potential cost.
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