Indonesia threatens to sue UK over Airbus bribery probe deal

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Financial Times
26 Sep 2023 13:46

Jakarta seeks to overturn the deal and compel a renegotiation in which the Asian country would get a portion of the fee.

An Airbus logo (AFP)

Indonesia has threatened to sue the United Kingdom for a portion of a record €991 million settlement reached with European aerospace firm Airbus over a bribery case involving the latter, the Financial Times reported.

Together with the United States and France, the UK struck the agreement in 2020 after the aircraft manufacturer acknowledged committing multi-country violations, including offering bribes to officials at Indonesia's state-owned airline Garuda.

Jakarta has long protested that it was excluded from the settlement despite assisting the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which is leading the investigation into Airbus' relations with Garuda.

The Financial Times cited Indonesia’s minister for law and human rights, Yasonna Laoly, as saying that Jakarta would sue London to overturn the deal and compel a renegotiation in which the Asian country would get a portion of the fee.

The declaration comes as the Indonesian government grows more frustrated with the UK's "lack of engagement," after multiple attempts to discuss the matter with the British administration.

According to Indonesian authorities, Laoly attempted to raise the problem with his British counterpart during a July visit to London, but his immediate UK counterpart at the ministerial level was on vacation.

"We are extremely disappointed that our request has not received appropriate attention," the Indonesian Minister expressed in a statement.

"We will file our claim to the English court with the purpose to annul the DPA [deferred prosecution agreement] . . . and renegotiate and conclude [a] DPA that includes the rights of the victim state," the statement pointed out.

Laoly went on to say that his country provided "crucial evidence" to the UK probe against Airbus, which helped achieve the DPA.

According to Cahyo Muzhar, Indonesia's director-general of legal administrative affairs, the plan to file a lawsuit was designed to demonstrate that Indonesia is "serious".

"They think that we won’t go to court. I think they will be a little bit shocked. This is the last thing that they expect to come from Indonesia."

As part of the dispute, Indonesia continues to reject the SFO's demands for assistance in a separate investigation against Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier until the Airbus issue is resolved, the Financial Times pointed out.

This comes only months before a critical meeting of the United Nations Convention against Corruption where the Airbus deal case would be vigorously tackled.

The Financial Times noted that several nations are dissatisfied with the outcomes of foreign bribery investigations launched by Western countries, which are frequently handled through corporate plea deals.

Research conducted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime in 2021 showed that fewer than 1% of the non-trial settlements were returned to impacted nations.

"It is increasingly untenable for the UK Treasury to pocket large fines in foreign corporate bribery cases, particularly in cases where the victim state has contributed evidence," considered Sue Hawley, executive director of anti-corruption charity Spotlight on Corruption.

Airbus agreed to pay regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France a total of €3.6 billion in 2020, the highest worldwide foreign bribery settlement on record at the time. However, the United Kingdom's portion included fines for corruption and bribery in Indonesia.