Rolls-Royce chief executive apologises for ‘unworthy’ conduct
Rolls-Royce’s chief executive has apologised after reaching an agreement to enter a Deferred Prosecution Agreement over bribery claims that will cost the company £671m.
The apology comes after a long-running investigation into claims that Rolls-Royce bribed agents to win export contracts.
Rolls-Royce said it has agreed to make payments to the US Department of Justice totalling $169,917,710 and to Brazil’s Ministério Público Federal (MPF) totalling $25,579,179.
Under the terms of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with the SFO, Rolls-Royce will pay £497,252,645 plus interest under a schedule lasting up to five years, plus a payment in respect of the Serious Fraud Office’s costs.
Warren East said: “The behaviour uncovered in the course of the investigations by the Serious Fraud Office and other authorities is completely unacceptable and we apologise unreservedly for it. This was unworthy of everything which Rolls-Royce stands for, and that our people, customers, investors and partners rightly expect from us.”
“The past practices that have been uncovered do not reflect the manner in which Rolls-Royce does business today. We now conduct ourselves in a fundamentally different way. We have zero tolerance of business misconduct of any sort.”
