Three people were arrested today by the Judicial Police (PJ) on suspicion of having participated in a scheme to supply TAP and other airlines with aircraft parts that did not meet the required requirements.
“The issue concerns the suspected supply of aeronautical parts and components to air transport companies and their respective maintenance units, accompanied by certification documentation that is suspected to have been forged. These components, classified as ‘Suspected Unapproved Parts’, do not comply with the requirements demanded by the original manufacturers”, the PJ said in a statement.
According to a source linked to the investigation, one of the affected airlines is TAP.
The scheme was denounced in 2023 by one of the airline operators, “following the detection, in its supply chains, of non-certified components, intended to be installed in aircraft engines, during maintenance actions”, indicates the PJ.
The police force adds that, before filing the complaint, the same company communicated the situation to the competent authorities in matters of air security, “thus contributing to the mitigation of any risks and to the rapid intervention of airport security authorities at an international level”.
The three people arrested in the “Voo Cego” operation are indicted for the crimes of qualified fraud, document forgery, harmful administration, attack on air transport security, money laundering, passive corruption, corruption with prejudice to international trade and qualified tax fraud.
In total, 10 search warrants were carried out today in the Lisbon area, on the South Bank, in Alentejo, in the Algarve and in the interior of the country.
The suspects will be brought before the court to be questioned by a judge and possibly subject to coercive measures.