Non-Subscriber Extract
BAE Systems may face prosecution by UK Serious Fraud Office
By Keri Wagstaff-Smith and Matthew Bell
02 October 2009
BAE Systems may face prosecution charges by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) following the department's investigations into the group's business activities in Africa and Eastern Europe.
On 1 October the SFO announced that it intends to seek the Attorney General's consent to prosecute the defence aerospace group for "offences relating to overseas corruption" and that it will "prepare its papers to be submitted to the Attorney when the SFO considers it is ready to proceed".
Responding to the announcement, BAE Systems said in a statement: "If the Director of the SFO obtains the consent that he seeks from the Attorney General and proceedings are commenced, the company will deal with any issues raised in those proceedings at the appropriate time and, if necessary, in court."
The group said it "continues to expend considerable effort seeking to resolve, at the earliest opportunity, the historical matters under investigation by the SFO", and that it has "at all times acted responsibly in its dealings with the SFO, taking into account the interests of its shareholders and employees and the legal advice it has received".
In a separate statement the group said that it "wholeheartedly supports a rigorous approach, in the hope that it brings to a conclusion enquiries which, in the case of the SFO, are now in their sixth year".
A source close to BAE Systems told Jane's that the SFO's announcement "does not rule out the possibility of a settlement" but that the company is "not prepared to settle at any price".