Serious Fraud Office opens bribery investigation into defence firm that supplies weapons to Ukraine

An investigation is under way into the France-based defence company Thales for suspected bribery and corruption, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced.
A statement said a joint investigation involving the SFO’s French counterparts was under way though it did not detail any allegations beyond the suspected offences.

Although based in Paris, the multi-national aviation and defence electronics group employs more than 7,000 people in the UK.
It has been involved in providing weapons to Ukraine and in September agreed a £162m contract with the UK government to supply 650 Lightweight Multirole Missiles from its site in Belfast.
It was reported in June that police in France, the Netherlands and Spain had searched company offices over suspicions of corruption linked to arms sales abroad.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

Advertisement

Source : Sky News