AVH Avianca Holdings SA

By Dylan Tokar 

A Colombian airline group has opened a probe into its business relationship with Airbus SE after the European plane maker reached a record $4 billion bribery settlement with authorities in three countries.

Avianca Holdings SA said it retained a law firm to conduct an investigation into its relationship with Airbus, which was charged with making illicit payments to intermediaries to secure contracts for its planes and other products in violation of the U.S.'s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and antibribery laws in France and the U.K.

The law firm would investigate whether Avianca was a victim of Airbus's alleged bribery schemes, the airline said, adding that it would take legal actions if necessary to defend the interests of the company and its shareholders.

The Airbus settlement was announced last week. In a statement Monday, Anko van der Werff, president and chief executive of Avianca Holdings, called revelations from Airbus's settlement "deeply concerning."

A spokesman for Airbus declined to comment Tuesday. Airbus Chairman Denis Ranque on Friday said the settlement would allow the company to "turn the page on unacceptable business practices from the past."

Airbus entered into several consultant agreements with a commercial intermediary in Colombia between 2006 and 2014 in an effort to secure deals with Avianca, according to a copy of Airbus's settlement in France.

French prosecutors said their investigation revealed that toward the end of 2014 a portion of the consultant's compensation was almost used to bribe an unnamed senior Avianca executive, a key contact for Airbus during ongoing negotiations over the sale of the company's A320neo aircraft.

Ultimately, enhanced compliance measures and a payment freeze to intermediaries that were put into place in 2014 prevented the promised payment from being made, the prosecutors said.

Avianca in August disclosed its own FCPA probe. The airline at the time said it was investigating whether it had violated the U.S. law by giving free tickets and upgrades to government officials. It said it had disclosed the matter to the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Brazilian conglomerate Synergy Group Corp. owns a 51.76% stake in Avianca, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Write to Dylan Tokar at dylan.tokar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 04, 2020 16:55 ET (21:55 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.