The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured a £10
million payment from a British manufacturer of
electronic systems for the international defence and aerospace
market after it acknowledged accountability for
failure to prevent
bribery. A judge today approved a Deferred
Prosecution Agreement (DPA) requiring Ultra
Electronics Holdings Ltd to pay the penalty, plus £4.8
million in SFO investigation costs.
In addition to the financial penalty and costs, the
DPA requires the company to meet strict
conditions and demonstrate genuine and sustained
reform under the scrutiny of the court.
Director of the Serious Fraud Office, Graham
McNulty QPM, said:
Public services and
critical national infrastructure depend
on business being carried out honestly and
lawfully. Bribery undermines that trust and corrodes
the systems on which society relies. Today's outcome underlines
the Serious Fraud Office's determination to investigate and hold
companies to account where those standards are breached.
An investigation was opened into the company in 2018
after it reported suspected offences of
corruption relating to conduct in Algeria. In
2024, this investigation was
extended to all jurisdictions in which the
company operated.
The DPA relates to failure to prevent bribery in
connection with three public sector
contracts sought through the use of agents. These
included a contract worth up to £200
million awarded by the Omani Ministry of Transport and
Communications.
There
were two further contracts sought in
Algeria. One for information technology and e-commerce
solutions at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, and a second
for encryption technology for the Algerian Ministry of
Post and Telecommunications. The Algerian
contracts – ultimately not secured by the company
– were expected to generate a profit of
£1.4 million.
Ultra Electronics must pay the penalty and
SFO investigation costs within 30 days.
The company must also provide yearly
reports for the next three years to the SFO
to demonstrate the effectiveness of
its anti-bribery and compliance programme.
Notes to editors
-
Under the Bribery Act 2010, a company can be held criminally
liable if someone acting on its behalf pays a bribe to win
or retain business – unless the company
can demonstrate it had adequate procedures in place
to prevent bribery from occurring.
-
A DPA is a voluntary agreement between a prosecutor and
an organisation, approved by a judge, under which prosecution
is deferred in exchange for the organisation meeting certain
conditions, including financial penalties and cooperation
with investigators.
-
The SFO previously withdrew from negotiations with Ultra
Electronics when it concluded the conditions for a
meaningful agreement were not in place. It was only following
significant changes to
the company's ownership, structure and
leadership that negotiations resumed. The SFO satisfied
itself that Ultra Electronics' new leadership had
both the willingness and the capacity to engage in good faith
before talks resumed.
-
Ultra Electronics was part of the FTSE 250 Index until 1
August 2022 when it was taken private by
Advent. It now operates under new
leadership.
-
This concludes the SFO's criminal investigation into Ultra
Electronics.
