UK fraud agency opens probe into aircraft parts supplier

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The UK Serious Fraud Office has arrested one individual and opened an investigation into suspected fraud at an aircraft parts supplier.

The prosecutor, along with the National Crime Agency, raided a site in London in connection with alleged fraud at AOG Technics Ltd, the SFO said in a statement on Wednesday.

UK-headquartered AOG has supplied parts to major airlines in Britain and abroad for the world’s best-selling passenger aircraft engine and the most-used cargo aircraft engine since 2015, according to the SFO.

Aviation authorities globally, including the UK Civil Aviation Authority and the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration, issued alerts earlier this year over safety issues related to AOG’s parts.

The company was ordered by a London court in September to hand over details of its sales to a number of aircraft companies. Some planes have been grounded in the UK and the US, the SFO said.

A phone call to a number listed for AOG went unanswered. A barrister who has represented AOG this year said he was no longer acting for the company and didn’t know who is representing them.

The raid and arrest was first reported by Bloomberg.

The safety issues linked to AOG’s parts relate to the CFM56 engine, which is made by CFM International, the joint venture between France’s Safran and GE of the US.

The engine powers some older Airbus and Boeing jets that are gradually being upgraded. Some 22,600 remain in service. CFM said in October it had found 145 engines in the global fleet that were fitted with parts linked with AOG. More than half of these had been removed from service.

The company said at the time that it had “completed an exhaustive review of the documentation provided by AOG Technics and shared the results with the relevant authorities”.

The AOG Technics investigation is the third probe the SFO has opened since new director Nick Ephgrave took the helm in September. Last month, the agency arrested seven individuals and raided nine sites as it opened a new case into the collapse of law firm group Axiom Ince.

Ephgrave told the Financial Times at the time that the operation highlighted a new approach to investigations under his leadership, as the former police officer looks to move faster and resuscitate the SFO’s reputation after a number of setbacks in recent years.

Under the previous director, Lisa Osofsky, active cases halved to about 35, and a number of high-profile probes were closed without charge. The agency was also tripped up by failings in disclosure, which led to cases against businesses such as security company G4S falling apart.