UK Serious Fraud Office and French equivalent ‘will pursue every avenue’ in allegations against Paris-based company

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating suspected bribery and corruption at Thales Group, a multinational aerospace and defence electronics contractor.

The company, which is headquartered in Paris and has a UK subsidiary employing more than 7,000 staff, is known in defence circles for its varied businesses, which include making missiles and launchers, supplying sonar systems for the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines and designing the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.