The French aircraft giant Airbus confirmed that it paid a bribe for the delivery of its products to Kazakhstan, the national portal "Adyrna" reported.
In addition to record fines agreed with French authorities in 2020, Airbus on Friday announced that new anti-bribery deals in Libya and Kazakhstan confirmed ,that they were conducting new negotiations," Reuters agency said.
Earlier, the French prosecutor's office announced that it was negotiating with Airbus to resolve the outstanding issues.
Also, the company confirmed that it would fully cooperate with the French authorities in the investigations related to Kazakhstan and Libya.
These two investigations resulted in fines of €3.6 billion in 2020, including €2.1 billion in France.
In 2009, the company delivered helicopters, satellites and a satellite control center to Kazakhstan. At the time of the deal, according to the French prosecutor's office, there were cases of bribery and money laundering by foreign officials. The French side has been investigating this case for four years. The case also involved the delivery of Airbus products to Libya.
Airbus announced that the company will act as an assistant witness in the Kazakhstan case. They have not yet been charged.
Airbus said they were being questioned as "assistant witnesses" with mediator status in the Kazakhstan case. The company is suspected of committing a crime under French law, but has not been formally charged.
In the context of the corruption scandal, the airline has radically changed its management.
The company, which came under investigation in 2016, says it now has a "state-of-the-art compliance and reporting system." However, Airbus will remain under external supervision until early 2023.
In addition, it should be noted that the company is conducting civil proceedings in the Netherlands, where it is legally located. The main complaint is that Airbus did not inform investors about the use of intermediary schemes. In this case, the company itself declared that it has a "reliable" defense.
