By Sam Tobin LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The director of a London-based airline parts company used forged documents to sell tens of thousands of engine parts, causing large losses for aviation industry
UK Aviation Parts Executive Imprisoned for Fraudulent Activities
By Sam Tobin
LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The director of a London-based airline parts company who used forged documents to sell tens of thousands of engine parts, leading planes to be briefly grounded over safety concerns, was jailed for four years and eight months on Monday.
Fraudulent Trading and Legal Proceedings
Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, 38, pleaded guilty in December to fraudulent trading, admitting defrauding customers and potential customers of AOG Technics by falsifying documents about the source and condition of engine parts from January 2019 to December 2023.
Many of the documents related to parts for CFM56 engines that power some Airbus and Boeing jets. Their discovery in 2023 led to planes being briefly grounded worldwide and prompted calls for extra regulation.
On Monday, Zamora Yrala sat in the dock at London's Southwark Crown Court as prosecutor Faras Baloch said his offences resulted in more than 60,000 suspect parts entering the global aviation supply chain.
Impact on Regulatory Systems
REGULATORY FRAMEWORK WAS UNDERMINED
Judge Simon Picken said his actions constituted a "more or less complete undermining of a regulatory framework designed to safeguard the millions of people who fly every day".
Zamora Yrala's lawyer Nicola Howard told the court he had "cut corners in order that he could trade more easily" and did not see the ramifications at the time.
Financial Repercussions for Companies
He was also banned from being a company director for eight years and will face confiscation proceedings to compensate the affected companies.
COMPANIES SUFFERED MILLIONS IN LOSSES
AOG Technics sold parts with falsified documents for a total of about 6.9 million pounds ($9.3 million), representing 90% of the company's revenue, Baloch said.
The fraud caused around 39.3 million pounds in losses, including about 23 million pounds suffered by American Airlines - which obtained parts from an AOG Technics customer - for the cost of repairing affected engines, leasing replacements and for aircraft being out of use, Baloch said.
American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jet engine maker CFM International's co-owners GE Aerospace and Safran suffered financial losses of around 3 million pounds and 580,000 pounds respectively, as well as "reputational damage", Baloch added.
GE Aerospace and Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Global Investigation and Industry Impact
2023 DISCOVERY PROMPTED A WORLDWIDE HUNT
Zamora Yrala and AOG Technics were sued at London's High Court by CFM International, GE and Safran in 2023, shortly after European regulators began investigating reports that parts without valid certificates had been found inside CFM56 engines.
Baloch said the CFM56 is "the leading engine in commercial aircraft and powers Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes".
CFM had launched a worldwide hunt for parts with suspected false documentation from AOG Technics.
Baloch said Zamora Yrala's fraud had caused "a loss of trust in the airline industry as a whole".
The Serious Fraud Office's Director of Operations Emma Luxton said in a statement that Zamora Yrala's fraud "risked public safety on a global scale in a way that defies belief".
($1 = 0.7410 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Barbara Lewis)
