The UK Serious Fraud Office secured a court-approved Deferred Prosecution Agreement with Ultra Electronics Holdings Ltd, a British manufacturer of electronic systems for the defence and aerospace market, over failure to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act 2010.
A judge approved the DPA. It requires Ultra Electronics to pay a financial penalty plus £4.8 million in SFO investigation costs, with strict reform conditions binding the company under court scrutiny for the agreement’s duration.
The bribery connects to three public sector contracts sought through agents. In Oman, that’s a Ministry of Transport and Communications contract worth up to £200 million. In Algeria, the company pursued two more: IT and e-commerce solutions at Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers, and encryption technology for the Algerian Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. Neither Algerian contract was secured, though both were expected to generate £1.4 million in profit.
The SFO opened its investigation in 2018 after Ultra Electronics self-reported suspected corruption in Algeria. Getting here wasn’t straightforward: the SFO previously withdrew from negotiations after concluding conditions for a meaningful agreement weren’t in place. The agency returned only after Ultra Electronics underwent changes in ownership, structure, and leadership. The SFO satisfied itself that the new leadership had the willingness and capacity to engage in good faith before talks resumed.
Ultra Electronics must now demonstrate “genuine and sustained reform” to the court. The 2024 expansion of the SFO’s investigation to all of the company’s operating jurisdictions shapes the scope of that oversight.
James Okafor