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.