By Sergio Goncalves
LISBON (Reuters) -Portuguese police searched the headquarters of flag carrier TAP and other companies on Tuesday as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected corruption in a complex aircraft leasing deal in 2015, the prosecutor general’s office said.
The searches stem from a 2023 investigation into TAP’s leasing deal for 53 Airbus aircraft, struck soon after it was first privatised and placed under the control of a joint venture between American-Brazilian aviation entrepreneur David Neeleman and Portuguese Barraqueiro Group, owned by Humberto Pedrosa.
Both Neeleman and Pedrosa have denied any wrongdoing.
TAP has since returned to full state ownership and entered a new privatisation process.
The Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement that the legal proceedings should be viewed “as normal”. It promised full cooperation with the judicial authorities, and said it expected no impact on the privatisation process ahead of the November 22 deadline for potential bidders to manifest their interest.
The prosecutor’s office said it suspects that the leasing contract was part of an illegal scheme in which Airbus helped finance the acquisition of TAP in 2015, resulting in losses for the airline.
“The facts in question are likely to constitute the crimes of harmful administration, passive corruption in the private sector, aggravated tax fraud, and aggravated Social Security fraud,” it said in a statement.
An Airbus spokesman said the company “does not comment on situations involving its client companies”.
Airbus’ historic business dealings have been the target of several investigations, resulting in a record $4 billion corruption settlement with French, British and U.S. authorities in 2020, and a related $14 million French settlement in 2022.
Airbus says it has undergone sweeping changes including a new system of compliance.
A TAP spokesperson said the airline “does not comment on legal proceedings and fully cooperates with authorities in all investigations”.
Searches were underway at 25 locations, including companies, law firms and auditing firms, prosecutors said.
Barraqueiro Group said it was also searched, but remained confident it committed no illegalities in the TAP privatisation. It said it was cooperating and had “no cause for concern regarding the ongoing investigations”.
(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; Additional reporting by Inti Landauro; editing by Andrei Khalip, Conor Humphries and Jan Harvey)
