Fraud officers arrest one in dawn raid on UK plane engine parts provider

One person has been arrested as part of a fraud investigation into a company that provides engine parts to several major airlines.

On Wednesday, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced it raided a property and launched a new investigation into AOG Technics Ltd.

The company supplies engine parts to several major airlines in the UK and abroad.

In August. the Civil Aviation Authority announced it was investigating the same company for the "supply of a large number of suspect unapproved parts".

Since investigations began some planes have been grounded in the UK and US.

Nick Ephgrave, director of the SFO, said: "This investigation deals with very serious allegations of fraud involving the supply of aircraft parts, the consequences of which are potentially far reaching.

"The SFO is best placed to take this investigation forward vigorously and we are determined to establish the facts as swiftly as possible."

The SFO investigators, accompanied by officers from the National Crime Agency, seized material from a site in Greater London and one individual is currently being questioned.

Headquartered in the UK, AOG has supplied parts globally for the world's best-selling passenger aircraft engine (the CF56) and most-used cargo aircraft engine (the CF6) since 2015.

The parts were mostly sold to overseas companies that install airline parts, as well as some UK airlines, maintenance providers and parts suppliers.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued alerts earlier this year to aviation businesses that may have bought or installed AOG's parts and continue to manage the safety implications involved.