Airbus has paid a £6.4m settlement to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK after admitting to multiple breaches of export rules for sensitive technology. The European aerospace company self-reported the offences, which took place before November 2022.
HMRC stated that the breaches related to Airbus's failure to maintain records of the export or transfer of controlled technology over a sustained period. These failures included not keeping accurate records for transfers under Open General Export Licences (Ogels) and a standard individual export licence (SIEL).
The £6.4m payment represents the highest out-of-court settlement ever secured by HMRC for strategic export offences. Edwige Hill, deputy director of HMRC's fraud investigation service, emphasised the UK's strict licensing regime for military equipment and stated that HMRC would not hesitate to take action against breaches.