Category: Crime News (Page 1 of 2)

French Ministry of Interior orders 42 Airbus H145 helicopters

January 24, 2024 / WIL BALDWIN

Marignane, France, January 24, 2023 – The French Armament General Directorate (DGA) ordered 42 new Airbus Group SE (Paris: AIR) H145 helicopters at the end of 2023, on behalf of the Ministry of Interior, with deliveries set to start in 2024. Of these 42 helicopters, 36 are destined for the French rescue and emergency response agency, Securite Civile, while the French law enforcement agency, Gendarmerie Nationale, will use six. The contract includes an option for a further 22 H145’s for the Gendarmerie Nationale and a range of support and service solutions from training to spare parts, as well as a complete initial support package for the aircraft.

The Securite Civile currently operates four five-bladed H145’s that were ordered in 2020 and 2021. The 36 H145’s will progressively replace the 33 EC145’s currently in operation for rescue and air medical transport services throughout France.

The six H145’s will initiate the renewal of the Gendarmerie’s fleet, composed of Ecureuils, EC135’s and EC145’s. They will be equipped with an electro-optical system and a mission computer to perform the most demanding law enforcement missions.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

MD Helicopters announce record orders for 2023

January 18, 2024 / WIL BALDWIN

Mesa, Arizona, January, 2024 – MD Helicopters, LLC (MDH) proudly announces record orders for the fiscal year 2023. The company experienced an increase in demand, resulting in the highest number of annual orders since 2008. MD Helicopters credits this accomplishment to its renewed commitment to customer satisfaction, enhancing aftermarket services, and striving for excellence in both the military and commercial sectors. The company’s focus and unwavering dedication to providing top-tier products and services have resonated with customers worldwide and across various markets, resulting in the substantial growth observed in 2023.

Among the key contributing factors to this success are significantly improving customer support, increased investment in direct communications with customers, enhancing manufacturing efficiencies, ensuring in-stock spares availability, and maintaining healthy supplier relationships. This strategic approach has not only strengthened MDH’s market position but has solidified its reputation as a rotorcraft industry leader.

In addition to the Nigerian Federal Government (12 aircraft) announced earlier this year, recent commercial transactions involved MD 530Fs designated for multi-use missions. These additions include VIP aircraft sales, featuring an expansion to the Clemens Aviation fleet, procurement by the United States Department of Agriculture for agricultural missions, and fulfilling various utility needs, such as those of WCF Aerospace, representing Skydance Helicopters that specializes in power and utility services, amongst others. MDH is actively pursuing a well-rounded approach, emphasizing both military and commercial sales and showcasing the positive impacts of the company’s recent changes.

Panasonic Verifies Inhibitory Effect of Hydroxyl Radicals Contained in Water on 4 novel Coronavirus Variants

November 2, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Corporation (Tokyo: 6752.T) today announced it has verified the inhibitory effect of hydroxyl radicals contained in water on novel coronavirus variants, namely Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, in collaboration with the Japan Textile Products Quality and Technology Center.

Many viruses constantly change through mutation with some generating variants that may significantly affect viral infectivity and toxicity, which could lead to a global pandemics. Currently on a worldwide rampage, novel coronavirus also generated variants, four of which, as described above, have been designated as Variants of Concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), namely, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

Panasonic-Verification-Inhibitory-Effect-Hydroxyl-Radicals-Contained-in-Water

SpiceJet to Trial IATA Travel Pass

August 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

GURUGRAM, August 19, 2021: In a step towards building passenger confidence as international travel picks up, SpiceJet will begin trial of IATA (International Air Transport Association) Travel Pass mobile app for digital health verification. The trial will be conducted on flights out of Mumbai to Male effective August 23, 2021.

The IATA Travel Pass is a mobile application that helps travellers to store and manage their verified certifications for Covid-19 tests or vaccinations. The Travel Pass will manage and verify the traveller’s COVID-19 status in line with governments’ health and border requirements.

In another significant development, SpiceHealth has been on-boarded by IATA as a lab partner for the Travel Pass trial. SpiceHealth is a healthcare company founded by the promoters of SpiceJet.

SpiceHealth has emerged as the fastest-growing diagnostic lab in the country – having conducted more than 3.5 million RT-PCR tests since its launch in November 2020. SpiceHealth laboratories are accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories and Indian Council of Medical Research. SpiceHealth currently operates 21 labs and collection centers for RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing spread across eleven cities in India. Besides, the Company also operates seven vaccination centers across five states.

As international travel restarts, passengers will need accurate Covid-19 information and the IATA Travel Pass provides governments with the means to verify the authenticity of tests or vaccinations, airlines with the ability to provide accurate information to their passengers on test requirements and verify that a passenger meets the requirements for travel and travellers with accurate information on test requirements, where they can get tested, and the means to securely convey their travel health credentials to airlines and border authorities.

SpiceJet has been innovating constantly to enhance customer experience while offering a safe and comfortable journey. SpiceJet was the first airline to introduce Zero Change Fee in March 2021. The airline had earlier introduced a COVID insurance cover including tests, medication and consultations upon testing positive for COVID-19. The airline also introduced SpiceJet Extra seat which allows passengers the option to book two or more seats to make their travel more comfortable and hassle-free.

Outrage Grows as Ryanair plane Hijacked by Belarus to Arrest Dissident Journalist – BBC

May 25, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

KiwiRail Supports Prisoner Reintegration with Railway Jobs

September 7, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

A Northland programme to help prisoners rejoin society by building their skills and confidence through rail work is an exciting new initiative which will benefit the community, KiwiRail Group Chief Executive Greg Miller says.

Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced $640,000 funding for KiwiRail’s “Second-Steppers” programme, which will provide training and support for the reintegration of 20 prisoners back into Northland’s community.

“Government investment to revitalise Northland’s rail line is already supporting local businesses and creating jobs in Northland. This additional funding means KiwiRail will be able to give something more back to the community,” Mr Miller says.

“Everyone knows how difficult it can be for prisoners to successfully reintegrate into the community. Giving them steady work, mentoring and manaaki tānga will enable them to learn new skills and assist with rebuilding their dignity.

“To start with, five carefully selected and vetted prisoners from Northland Region Corrections Facility, near Kaikohe, will be carrying out ‘release to work’ for us for six months. They’ll each go through a special course that provides a combination of health and safety, track maintenance, and personal development training. They’ll also be learning in an environment that offers Kaitohutohu (mentors) who can help support the growth of each participant.

“We’ve been building our workforce in Northland, and we want to bring on more local staff. This programme is designed to help up-skill the prisoners, with the intention to offer them full time work at the end.

“KiwiRail has a strong Māori network, and we want to inspire our next leaders and strengthen whakawhanaungatanga (relationships) with the communities around our rail operations.

“Rail will help to transform Northland and supporting prisoners to rejoin and contribute to society is a small but important part of that effort.”

KiwiRail expects the first group of five prisoners to begin work at our Whangarei Rail Depot in late September/early October. In total, 20 prisoners are expected to go through the Second-Steppers programme over the next two years.

KiwiRail is working with Corrections in selecting prisoners for the programme. There is a thorough pre-approval process and a number of factors are taken into account when assessing a prisoner’s suitability, including the prisoner’s security classification, their release and parole eligibility dates, their behaviour and potential impact on victims. Prisoners will be subject to electronic monitoring while on our sites and while travelling to and from Northland Region Corrections Facility each day.

Former Garuda Indonesia CEO Jailed for Eight Years for Bribery

May 8, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

AKARTA (Reuters) – An Indonesian court on Friday jailed Emirsyah Satar, a former chief executive of Garuda Indonesia, for bribery and money laundering related to procurement of planes and engines from Airbus and Rolls-Royce, his laywer said.

Satar’s lawyer Luhut Pangaribuan said his client had been given an eight-year sentence and fined S$2 million ($1.4 million) by the country’s corruption court.

Indonesia’s Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) had indicted Satar, CEO of Garuda from 2005 to 2014, over payments from a businessman via a third party for the procurement by Garuda Indonesia of Roll-Royce Trent 700 engines and Airbus A320 and A330 planes.

The indictment also related to the procurement of Airbus planes for PT Citilink Indonesia, a unit of Garuda.

In 2017 Rolls-Royce agreed to pay authorities more than $800 million to settle charges after an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and Britain’s Serious Fraud Office into alleged bribery of officials in six countries in schemes that lasted more than a decade.

Airbus in February this year agreed to pay a record $4 billion in fines after reaching a plea bargain with prosecutors in Britain, France and United States over alleged bribery and corruption stretching back at least 15 years.

Satar, who had previously denied wrongdoing, will decide next week whether to appeal against his sentence, said Pangaribuan.

($1 = 1.4139 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by David Goodman)

Norwegian Air Could Run Out of Cash Unless Debt Plan Approved

April 27, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Air <NAS.OL> could run out of cash by mid-May unless its proposed financial rescue plan is approved by creditors and shareholders, the budget carrier warned on Monday.

If approved by bondholders, leasing companies and shareholders, the plan may help Norwegian survive the coronavirus outbreak, which has grounded 95% of its fleet, leaving just 7 aircraft in operation.

But the planned debt-to-equity swap will hand majority ownership of 53.1% to the company’s lessors, while bondholders would own 41.7%, leaving current shareholders with just 5.2%, it said.

The move would allow Norwegian to tap government guarantees of 2.7 billion crowns ($255 million), which are dependent on the company reducing its ratio of debt to equity, and which would come on top of 300 million crowns it has already received.

It is “critical to get access to the state aid package by mid-May before the company runs out of cash,” Norwegian said in a presentation to investors.

Rapid growth has made Norwegian Europe’s third-largest low-cost airline and the biggest foreign carrier serving New York and other major U.S. cities, but with the expansion came debts and liabilities of close to $8 billion by the end of 2019.

Last week, the company reported that four Swedish and Danish subsidiaries had filed for bankruptcy and that it had ended staffing contracts in Europe and the United States, putting some 4,700 jobs at risk.

Norwegian’s shares opened 8% lower on Monday and are down 86% year-to-date.

The company aims to gradually emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with both a short-haul and long-haul network in place, and is targeting a return to normal operations in 2022, it said.

The plan requires backing from bondholders in each of four separate votes planned for April 30, from shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for May 4, and from leasing firms.

It maintained plans to raise up to 400 million crowns in cash from owners.

(Editing by Jan Harvey)

FILE PHOTO: A Norwegian Air plane is refuelled at Oslo Gardermoen airport

AirAsia Shares Plunge After Airbus Bribery Allegations

February 2, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Shares of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group <5099.KL> fell on Monday, after allegations by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office that Airbus <EADSY> paid a bribe of $50 million to win plane orders from Asia’s largest budget airline group.

AirAsia shares fell as much as 11% to 1.27 ringgit – their lowest since May 2016 – while those of AirAsia X tanked 12% to their all-time low of 11.5 Malaysian sen.

Malaysia’s anti-graft agency is investigating the allegations from Britain. AirAsia has said it never made any purchase decisions that were premised on Airbus sponsorship, and that it would fully cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Malaysia’s Securities Commission said on Sunday it would also examine whether AirAsia broke securities laws.

The allegations were revealed on Friday as part of a record $4 billion settlement Airbus agreed with France, Britain and the United States. Prosecutors said the company had bribed public officials and hidden payments as part of a pattern of worldwide corruption.

Airbus said at the weekend it would not comment on the Malaysian investigations.

Analysts said the accusation against AirAsia comes at a particularly bad time as airlines grapple with a slowdown in business because of the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic that has killed more than 300 people in China and disrupted air travel.

“Besides being embroiled in this corruption scandal, we expect a tough operating environment to persist over the medium term with maintenance cost remaining high … and concerns over the Wuhan virus outbreak which could derail propensity for air travel in the region,” Malaysia’s Kenanga Investment Bank wrote in a research note.

TA Securities downgraded AirAsia Group stock to “sell” from “buy”.

“We choose the ‘sell first, ask questions later’ approach to avoid the uncertainty in association with the corruption investigation by MACC, where the impact on AirAsia could be significant in terms of corporate governance,” it said in a note.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Christopher Cushing)

FILE PHOTO: Thai AirAsia Airbus A320 plane prepares for take off at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok

Record $4 Billion Airbus Fine Draws Line Under ‘Pervasive’ Bribery

January 31, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The Airbus logo is pictured at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse

PARIS/LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Airbus <EADSY> bribed public officials and hid the payments as part of a pattern of worldwide corruption, prosecutors said on Friday as the European planemaker agreed a record $4 billion settlement with France, Britain and the United States.

The disclosures, made public after a nearly four-year investigation spanning sales to more than a dozen overseas markets, came as courts on both sides of the Atlantic formally approved settlements that lift a legal cloud that has hung over Europe’s largest aerospace group for years.

“It was a pervasive and pernicious bribery scheme in various divisions of Airbus SE that went on for a number of years,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan said.

The deal, effectively a corporate plea bargain, means Airbus has avoided criminal prosecution that would have risked it being barred from public contracts in the United States and European Union – a massive blow for a major defence and space supplier.

Prosecutors said individuals could still face criminal charges, however.

Airbus, whose shares closed down 1%, has been investigated by French and British authorities for alleged corruption over jet sales dating back more than a decade. It has also faced U.S. inquiries over suspected violations of U.S. export controls.

“In reaching this agreement today, we are helping Airbus to turn the page definitively” on corrupt past practices, French prosecutor Jean-Francois Bohnert said.

France’s financial prosecutor said the company had also agreed to three years “light compliance monitoring” by the country’s anti-corruption agency.

The U.S. Department of Justice said the deal was the largest ever foreign bribery settlement.

CODE NAME ‘VAN GOGH’

In a packed hearing at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, an Airbus lawyer said the settlements “draw a clear line under the investigation and under the grave historic practices”.

Outlining detailed findings, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said Airbus had hired the wife of a Sri Lankan Airlines executive as its intermediary and misled Britain’s UKEF export credit agency over her name and gender, while paying $2 million to her company. The airline could not be reached for comment.

Click the link below to read the full story!

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/airbus-pay-4-billion-settle-152542295.html

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