Airbus is facing a $ 339 million lawsuit in the Netherlands, lawyers said

By Toby Sterling and Tim Hepher

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Lawyers claiming they are representing “100” institutional investors have filed a lawsuit against Airbus in a court in the Netherlands alleging that they had suffered compensation of at least 300 million euros ($ 339 million) for misconduct. .

The Investor Loss Compensation Foundation’s lawsuit in Hague on Jan. 3 says the investor suffered losses after buying shares in Airbus SE (OTC 🙂 because it was expensive because the company kept information about the company’s corruption. The lawsuit also names KMPG and accountants Ernst & Young as defendants.

An Airbus spokesman, who had to deal with civil claims in the Netherlands in his third quarter earnings report for 2021, said the company would not comment on ongoing lawsuits. In its earnings report, Airbus said it believed it had “strong reasons to defend itself against the allegations.”

KMPG and Ernst & Young did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported for the first time on the case against Airbus, which has its headquarters in Tolosa, France, and its headquarters in Leiden, the Netherlands.

The aircraft manufacturer agreed to a $ 4 billion fine in 2020 in an agreement with French, British and US authorities to resolve a three-year investigation into bribery and corruption as a result of sales practices.

“Now more than 100 institutional investors have joined the Foundation, and it is hoped that this number will rise,” he said in the dossier.

“The damage suffered by the current participants is about 300 million euros. As more participants come together, that number will increase,” he said.

The Dutch case calls on the defendants’ representatives to appear in court on April 6.

($ 1 = $ 0.8846)