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The aviation and defence firm Thales is being investigated for suspected bribery and corruption, with authorities in the UK and France conducting a joint probe into the company. Thales is one of the UK government’s most important defence contractors, with Thales UK employing over 7,000 members of staff. During the summer of 2019, police in Spain, the Netherlands, and France conducted a search of the company’s offices, citing concerns over corruption linked to arms sales abroad.
Both the French Parquet National Financier and the Serious Fraud Office in the UK confirmed to Thales that the investigation had commenced. The Serious Fraud Office’s Director, Nick Ephgrave, stated that the groups will work collaboratively to fight against international corruption. He went on to say that every avenue would be explored in the investigation.
Thales has previously supplied the UK government with 650 Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs), were delivered to Ukraine in September as part of a £162m order. In February, the company also won a £1.8bn UK defence contract to maintain ships and submarines for the Royal Navy for 15 years.
Thales states that it is cooperating with the authorities throughout the investigation, confirming that the SFO and PNF have begun an investigation in relation to four of its entities in France and the UK. The company denies any allegations of foul play, stating that they comply with all national and international regulations.
Thales also has offices in Belfast, Bristol, Cheadle Heath (Cheshire), Crawley (West Sussex), Doncaster, Ebbw Vale, Glasgow, Reading and Templecombe (Somerset)
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