British Aircraft Parts Dealer Jailed For £7m Fraud Using Fake Documentation
The Director of a UK aircraft parts company has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after selling £7 million worth of engine components using falsified documents.
According to Airline Routes & Ground Services (ARGS), Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, 38, ran AOG Technics, which supplied tens of thousands of parts worldwide for widely used aircraft engines. Many of the sales were backed by forged paperwork, the court heard.
Judge Simon Picken, delivering the sentence at Southwark Crown Court, said Zamora Yrala’s actions represented a “more or less complete undermining” of the safety rules designed to protect passenger flights.
Zamora Yrala pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading in December, following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Between 2019 and 2023, AOG Technics supplied around 60,000 components for CFM56 engines, one of the world’s bestselling aircraft engines, used on Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft.
The scam was uncovered when an engineer at Portuguese airline TAP questioned the origin of a part he was struggling to fit. The manufacturer confirmed the accompanying documentation was fake, triggering a global investigation.
The discovery of the fraud in 2023 led to the grounding of planes in the UK and internationally so that engines could be checked and parts replaced. Airlines affected included Ryanair, American Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and TAP Air Portugal. Total losses were estimated at £39.3 million.
AOG Technics used falsified Authorized Release Certificates (ARCs), which are required to prove critical new or refurbished parts are airworthy. Some certificates were genuine but altered by an accomplice, while others were forged with the help of a Spanish graphic designer.
Prosecutors said Zamora Yrala also fabricated company employees, sending emails and documents signed by fictitious sales and quality managers to create the appearance of a legitimate business. In reality, only Zamora Yrala, his then-wife, her brother, and the family’s nanny were on the payroll.
Harriet Sassoon, case controller at the SFO, said: “It is almost impossible to identify where parts sold with forged certificates came from.”
Alongside his prison sentence, Zamora Yrala has been disqualified from acting as a company director for eight years. He is also set to face proceeds of crime proceedings later this year.
Portuguese authorities are continuing a related investigation into the origin of the fraudulent parts.
