TISL seeks info on whether SL is entitled to compensation from € 3.6 b Airbus settlement

Thursday, 12 March 2020 00:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) has written to the Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the UK seeking an explanation as to whether Sri Lanka is entitlement to compensation in the €3.6 billion settlement reached with Airbus SE.

This letter, which was sent on 6 March, forms part of TISL’s ongoing work to aid in the recovery of the $116m loss incurred by Sri Lankan Airlines as a result of the corrupt re-fleeting deal with Airbus SE, the organisation said in a statement.

TISL had previously written a joint letter to the SFO, the Parquet National Financier in France and the US Department of Justice in June 2018, flagging allegations of corruption in Airbus SE’s conduct and highlighting the need to ensure compensation for those harmed by any wrongdoing.

In the letter to the SFO Director last week, TISL highlights the UK’s “General Principles to compensate overseas victims (including affected States) in bribery, corruption and economic crime cases”.

“TISL believes that Sri Lanka has a legitimate demand to compensation in this instance,” it said.

The letter questions why, given the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) generally considers the question of compensation in all relevant cases, the SFO and CPS did not include compensation as part of the terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) entered into with Airbus in line with Section 2 (b) of the General Principles.

“TISL is aware of five prior instances where the SFO working with the NCA and CPS have secured compensation for overseas victims totalling £42.9 million, as disclosed on the SFO’s website. We are therefore understandably concerned that it appears the same yardstick may not have been used to assess Sri Lanka’s case for compensation.”

The letter goes onto say Sri Lanka does not have a comprehensive legal framework for the management of recovered assets but following the 2018 Global Forum on Asset Recovery, Sri Lanka has developed a policy framework on Proceeds of Crime, involving multiple stakeholders from the State and civil society.

“Whilst this policy has not yet translated into law in the event that the two Governments agree to return the proceeds of crime, it is noted that this framework and the global best practices on such returns need to be given due consideration,” the letter added.