Criminal investigations have been launched into a UK-registered company, AOG Technics, which is suspected of distributing unapproved parts to airlines.
As a result of the concerns which have emerged about the firm, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office has raided an address and arrested an individual. The person detained is being questioned.
Investigators and National Crime Agency officers have seized material from a site in London.
AOG Technics has supplied engine parts for CFM International CFM56 and General Electric CF6 powerplants for several years.
The parts were mostly sold to overseas companies that install components, but were also passed to some UK carriers maintenance firms.
“This investigation deals with very serious allegations of fraud involving the supply of aircraft parts, the consequences of which are potentially far reaching,” says Serious Fraud Office director Nick Ephgrave.
He says the office will investigate “vigorously”, adding: “We are determined to establish the facts as swiftly as possible.”
Particular concerns about AOG Technics emerged in August when the European Union Aviation Safety Agency notified operators that it suspected the company had distributed unapproved components for CFM56s.
These components had been distributed with falsified authorised-release certificates, the regulator stated. Similar alerts have been issued by the US FAA and UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The Serious Fraud Office says it is working with the CAA and other regulators to study the information obtained, in order to determine whether there are grounds for prosecution.
Analysis by CFM International identified over 100 engines which contained parts sourced from AOG Technics.
Documents filed with the UK’s corporate register state that AOG Technics was established in 2015, at a residential address in the coastal town of Hove. The registered office address has since changed seven times, including twice to a high-profile location in central London near Buckingham Palace.
