17 January 2017
Rolls-Royce has agreed to pay £671million to Britain, the US and Brazilian authorities in a settlement of bribery and corruption allegations. This voluntary payment, which is spread over 5 years, will protect Rolls Royce from prosecution by anti-corruption agencies.
Air China made a contract for $800 million for Trent 700 engines.  Rolls-Royce made a deal with China Eastern Airlines worth $1.2 billion for Trent 700 engines. Chen Xin, who worked for both airlines, is said to have taken the bribe from Rolls-Royce. He was arrested by Chinese authorities in 2011.
Dick Taylor, a former Rolls-Royce employee in Indonesia, had alleged that Tommy Suharto, the son of the former Indonesian president, was paid $20 million by Rolls-Royce and given a Rolls-Royce car to persuade the Garuda airline to buy Trent 700 engines in 1990. Tommy Suharto contacted the Serious Fraud Office in London to deny allegations that he was bribed by Rolls-Royce.
Supply of jet engines for Hawk fighter training aircraft to India, has also been under scrutiny. In an enquiry conducted at the defence ministry in India, 67.6 million euros was paid as commission to a company in Singapore, called Aashmore Consultants. The payment amounts to10% of the contract sum. It was paid to Ashok Patni of Aashmore Consultants. An investigation by the BBC and The Guardian has revealed that Rolls-Royce paid the money to companies linked to arms dealer Sudhir Choudhrie. Mr Choudhrie is on Indian government’s blacklist. He is a billionaire living in London.
Rolls is also caught up in an enquiry in Brazil over bribery at Petrobras, state owned oil company. Petrobras has been mired in corruption for decades. Currently investigations code named “operation car wash” is going on in Brazil over its corruption. Brazilian federal prosecutors revealed that a former Petrobras manager Pedro Barusco, in his plea-bargaining agreement said he received at least US$200,000 from Rolls-Royce.

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