Overview
- Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala admitted at Southwark Crown Court to a single fraud charge for falsifying provenance and status documents for aircraft parts between 2019 and 2023.
- The Serious Fraud Office said the scheme involved CFM56 engine components used on Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 jets, reaching airlines, maintenance providers, and parts distributors.
- Safety alerts in 2023 from the CAA, FAA, and EASA prompted brief groundings and global record checks, with carriers including Delta, American, Southwest, TAP, Ryanair, WestJet, and Virgin Australia reviewing fleets.
- CFM International and co-owners GE Aerospace and Safran sued in London, alleging thousands of parts were sold with false paperwork as a worldwide effort to trace suspect items continued.
- The SFO said it worked with Portuguese authorities, whose investigation remains active, while Zamora Yrala is on conditional bail and faces a potential sentence of up to ten years.