The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has joined forces with its French counterpart, Parquet National Financier (PNF), to mount an investigation into suspected bribery and corruption at aviation and defence firm Thales.

According to an unnamed source, the investigation is related to claims of bribery of a foreign public official, influence trafficking, handling stolen goods and money laundering and concerns an arms contract awarded in Asia.

A Reuters report claims that the investigation follows a search of the company’s offices in France, Spain and the Netherlands earlier this year by law enforcement officials.

The company, which is headquartered in Paris and has a UK subsidiary employing more than 7,000 staff, is known in defence circles for its varied businesses.

This includes building the 650 so-called Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMMs) that the UK announced it would supply to Ukraine in September, in a £162 million order.

A spokesperson for Thales confirmed that the SFO and the PNF have commenced an investigation in relation to four of its entities in France and the UK.

They went on to say that Thales is co-operating with the PNF in France and the SFO in the UK, pointing out that the group complies with all national and international regulations.

However, they added that, “as the investigation is ongoing, Thales will not comment further.”

Meanwhile, an SFO spokesman said that working collaboratively with international partners is a crucial factor in the fight against international corruption.

Roger Isaacs, Forensic Partner at Milsted Langdon, said: “Cross-border investigations are particularly complex. Collecting evidence involves extensive collaboration and, when it comes to tracing assets, forensic accountants have a range of tools to help follow an international money trail.

However, these days it is more common to have to deal with a chain of cryptocurrency transactions which can require an entirely different skillset and specialised software.”

Sources: BBC News, Reuters