Law-enforcement authorities have formally charged an individual with fraudulent trading following an investigation into UK-based company AOG Technics, which was selling parts for turbofan engines.
AOG Technics had been distributing components for CFM International CFM56 and GE Aerospace CF6 powerplants to airlines and other customers including maintenance providers.
It came under scrutiny from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office which opened a criminal investigation and raided the company’s address in late 2023.
The office alleges that AOG Technics defrauded customers by falsifying documentation – relating to the origin, status or condition of the aircraft parts – over the course of 2019-23.
It has charged director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala with fraudulent trading, and he will appear in court in London on 2 June.
Serious Fraud Office director Nick Ephgrave says the charges are the result of a “focused and fast-paced” inquiry.
He adds that aircraft were grounded and “significant disruption” occurred as European and US regulators alerted airlines to the possibility that they had acquired or installed parts from AOG Technics.
The office states that it carried out the investigation jointly with the Portuguese Procuradoria-Geral da Republica and other partners.
Portugal’s investigation is continuing and the office states that three arrests were made in the last few days after searches at 10 locations across the country.
