Between June 26-28, 2024, Police from France, Spain, and the Netherlands searched the French military equipment provider Thales following corruption allegations, according to an article published in Reuters. According to the article, the company is undergoing two different investigations, including one that opened in 2016 for the suspected corruption of a foreign public official, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering. The second investigation opened in June 2023, and it concerns suspected corruption and influence peddling, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering. Both cases are linked to the sale of equipment abroad.
According to a spokesperson from the company, Thales insists that they have always followed national and international laws and regulations while conducting business. The company has not said anything else regarding the investigations, but they are still ongoing.
According to an article published last year in Reuters, the 2023 investigation began after Sanjay Bhandari, an Indian businessman, filed a lawsuit against Thales in French courts in 2021. Bhandari claimed that the company paid him so that he could obtain contracts to conduct maintenance on a fighter jet. However, Thales disputed the claims that they were ever involved in payments for any Indian airline modernization project.
In 2008, according to an article published in Barron’s, Thales was involved in the manufacture and sale of submarines to Brazil. The sale followed a deal made by Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president at the time. The investigation that opened in 2016 is examining possible corruption and money laundering involved with this sale. Additionally, Thales is being investigated for the sale of submarines to Malaysia in 2002 and the transfer of a Thales employee to the United Nations.
While multinational corporations like Thales contribute to technological advancement and economic growth, they are also prone to corruption and political influence. Thales’ involvement in the defense sector requires the company to have close ties with government officials, which can lead to unethical practices. For companies like Thales, it is extremely difficult to prioritize public interests over private ones. For example, Thales’ close ties to the United Nations influences the company’s interests and other clients. In-depth investigations are necessary to protect against corruption and to discourage illicit activities and deals. Additionally, international policies and regulations must be strengthened and enforced to ensure that both local and global interests are considered for all parties.
