The UK Corruption Bureau is cooperating with the French Parquet National Financier on this inquiry. Thales, headquartered in Paris and with over 7,000 employees in the UK, has been alerted.
The electronic defence group's share price fell by more than 6 per cent at the opening of trading on Friday after the revelation of a corruption investigation in France and the United Kingdom. Thales claims to respect all rules of ethics. The share price of the defence electronics specialist Thales suffered the biggest drop in the CAC 40 on Friday after the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the United Kingdom's financial investigation service, announced opening an investigation into suspected corruption.
Since July, the French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) has reportedly been investigating the group on charges of bribery of a foreign public official, influence peddling of a foreign public official, receiving stolen goods, and money laundering in connection with an arms deal awarded to the group in Asia. However, on Thursday evening, the SFO said it would launch an investigation for the identical reasons.
Thales confirms that the Parquet National Financier (PNF) in France and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the United Kingdom have launched investigations into four Group businesses in France and the United Kingdom concerning the performance of an Asian contract. Thales responded by stating that it opposes the allegations brought to its attention. It also shows that the group fully cooperates with the PNF in France and the SFO in the UK.
