Airbus is sued in the Netherlands for damages amounting to millions. The complaint, which was submitted to a court in The Hague on January 3, concerns allegations of corruption. Investors bought Airbus shares at inflated prices and suffered losses of at least 300 million euros because the company withheld information about corruption. The plaintiffs also focus on the auditors KPMG and Ernst & Young.
So far, more than 100 institutional investors have joined the plaintiff group, it was said in the court documents, about which the Dutch newspaper “Het Financieele Dagblad” had first reported. “The expectation is that this number will increase.” Should more investors participate in the lawsuit, the amount of damage should also increase. A court hearing is scheduled for April 6th.
Airbus had already disclosed in its annual report for the third quarter that there was a risk of civil lawsuits in the Netherlands and announced that it would take action. In 2020, the aircraft manufacturer agreed on a settlement with a volume of four billion dollars with French, British and US authorities. The investigation involved bribery and corruption in sales practices that dragged on for three years.