Aerospace firm AAR settles US bribery charges for $55 mln

Adds detail from statement, DOJ settlement reaction from company in paragraphs 1-10

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Global aerospace company AAR Corp AIR.N has agreed to pay more than $55 million to resolve allegations of bribing Nepalese and South African public officials, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.

The amount involved settlements with the SEC and U.S. Justice Department.

Deepak Sharma, a former executive of a wholly owned AAR subsidiary, also settled related SEC charges, agreeing to pay $184,597 in disgorgement, or the return of ill-gotten gains, the SEC said.

In a statement, AAR said U.S. authorities had credited the company for voluntarily reporting the matter, adding the alleged misconduct was the work of a former employee and of a third party.

"We thank the DOJ and SEC for their collaboration and their recognition of the company's substantial cooperation," AAR CEO John Holmes said.

Lawyers for Sharma did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the SEC, between 2015 and 2018 Sharma allegedly carried out a bribery scheme for AAR to win a $210 million contract for the sale of two Airbus AIR.PA A330 jets to government-owned Nepal Airlines.

The agency also alleges Sharma was involved in a separate scheme to win an aviation services contract from a subsidiary of South African Airways, which is also government-owned.

"The SEC's order finds that AAR paid millions of dollars in bribes to Nepalese and South African officials as part of the two schemes," the agency said.

Representatives of Nepal Airlines and South African Airways did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Douglas Gillison in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed)

((Kanishka.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; +12024508248;))