The Wall Street Journal said allegations involved third-party consultants and stretch back to an initial probe in April, when the SFO said it was seeking information from the aircraft manufacturer over how it used overseas agents and how this was disclosed to regulators.
Airbus faces a ban from UK export credit financing while the investigation is ongoing, while France and Germany have also put a hold on credit. Airbus has key assembly plants in all countries and produces aircraft wings near Chester.
It is likely that the SFO’s investigation will take many months, but the bans on export credits could be lifted sooner as they are separate enquiries. Export credits are often used to underwrite loans to overseas buyers of UK products. The BBC said, however, that last year Airbus used these for only 6% of its deliveries.
