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Aerospace firm AAR settles United States bribery charges for $55 mln

International aerospace business AAR Corp has agreed to pay more than $55 million to solve allegations of bribing Nepalese and South African public officials, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

The amount included settlements with the SEC and U.S. Justice Department.

Deepak Sharma, a previous executive of a wholly owned AAR subsidiary, also settled associated SEC charges, accepting pay $ 184,597 in disgorgement, or the return of ill-gotten gains, the SEC stated.

In a statement, AAR said U.S. authorities had actually credited the company for voluntarily reporting the matter, adding the alleged misbehavior was the work of a previous staff member and of a. 3rd party.

We thank the DOJ and SEC for their collaboration and their. recognition of the company's considerable cooperation, AAR CEO. John Holmes said.

Attorneys for Sharma did not right away respond to a request. for comment.

According to the SEC, in between 2015 and 2018 Sharma allegedly. performed a bribery plan for AAR to win a $210 million. agreement for the sale of 2 Airplane A330 jets to. government-owned Nepal Airlines.

The company likewise declares Sharma was involved in a different. scheme to win an aviation services agreement from a subsidiary of. South African Airways, which is also government-owned.

The SEC's order finds that AAR paid countless dollars in. bribes to Nepalese and South African authorities as part of the. two schemes, the agency stated.

Representatives of Nepal Airlines and South African Airways. did not instantly respond to requests for comment.

(source: Reuters)