According to the SEC, Sharma played a central role in orchestrating and implementing the bribery scheme to secure a contract for the sale of the Airbus aircraft between 2015 and 2018, which was valued at roughly $210 million. He was also involved in the South African Airways contract, the agency noted.
As part of its consent order with the SEC, AAR has acknowledged that it violated the anti-bribery, recordkeeping, and internal accounting control provisions of the FCPA, the SEC said.
Charles Cain, the chief of the SEC’s FCPA Unit, commented in a statement that the alleged bribery schemes underscored the impact of a deficient control environment, which creates opportunities for corruption to transcend national borders. “This matter serves as another critical reminder that companies must establish and maintain robust compliance and accounting controls that are appropriate for the FCPA risks they encounter, including those associated with their engagements with third parties across their global business operations,” Cain said.
