On May 1, 2026, the High Court of Justice issued a judgment approving a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (“DPA”) between the UK Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) and British defense and security company Ultra Electronics Holdings Ltd, in which the company agreed to pay approximately £15 million to resolve a long-standing bribery investigation. The SFO launched the investigation in 2018 after Ultra Electronics self-reported that “dubious” payments might have been made in Algeria. In 2024, the SFO decided to extend the investigation to all jurisdictions in which the company operated. The DPA resolves an investigation into the company’s failure to prevent bribery in its Algerian and Omani operations. The fine includes a financial penalty of more than £10 million and over £4.8 million in SFO investigative costs.
According to the Judgment, Ultra Electronics’ bribery failures involve three public sector contracts in which local agents in Oman and Algeria were used to secure “high-value infrastructure projects” in those countries. Ultra Electronics allegedly made improper payments to an unnamed official in Oman, between 2009 and 2011, and won a bid to provide information technology services for airports in Muscat and Salalah – a contract worth up to £200 million that was partially fulfilled by Ultra Electronics before it was terminated by the Omani Ministry in February 2015. The company also allegedly made improper payments, between 2014 and 2017, in connection with bids for two projects in Algeria involving the provision of IT and e-commerce solutions for Houari Boumediene Airport in Algiers and the provision of “public key infrastructure” for the Algerian Ministry of Post and Information and Communication Technologies. According to the SFO, the two contracts were expected to generate a total profit of £1.4 million; however, efforts to secure the contracts were unsuccessful.
According to the SFO, Ultra Electronics must pay the fine within 30 days of the judgment. The DPA also requires Ultra Electronics to maintain an effective corporate compliance program throughout the term of the DPA and provide yearly reports to the SFO to ensure that identified deficiencies are addressed and that its bribery and compliance program remains effective.
SFO Press Release | Judgment | Deferred Prosecution Agreement | Statement of Facts