South Africa's Zondo Judicial Commission of Inquiry's findings of corruption between 2016 and 2020 at South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), its maintenance subsidiary South African Airways Technical (SAAT), and ground handler Swissport have led to the first foreign prosecution related to the bribery schemes. Julian Aires, president of JM International, a US-based aircraft component services company, has pleaded guilty to violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the District Court of Columbia, according to ch-aviation research.

On June 11, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Aires with conspiring to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions. The case was unsealed on July 15 following a plea agreement. According to Standford Law School's FCPA Clearing House investigations, sanctions are still pending, and the case remains ongoing.

The case documents state that between January 2016 and January 2020, Aires and co-conspirators bribed South African officials to secure and maintain a five-year contract for JM Aviation South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a joint venture between JM International and Illinois-based air services provider AAR, to provide components and repair services to SAAT. They paid cash and wire-transfer bribes to SAA and SAAT officials, disguising them as "consulting fees" and using codenames for the officials such as "Cuz" (cousin), "Sissy" (little sister), and "Boetie" (little brother). Proceeds from the SAAT contract were then divided among Aires and his co-conspirators. Between 2016 and 2020, USD5.3 million was paid in "commissions, success fees, and advance payments" in connection with the SAAT contract, a portion of which was paid as bribes.

The Zondo Commission's 874-page report published in January 2022 concluded that the USD125 million contract with JM Aviation/JM International and AAR had been "unlawful, irregular and unfair" as bribes and kickbacks were paid to SAAT's then chairwoman and chartered accountant, Yakhe Kwinana, and then procurement head and lawyer, Nontsasa Memela. They did so by fraudulently fabricating agreements to ensure that they appeared as though they were arms-length transactions unrelated to the decision-making in SAAT at the time.

In another bribery scheme before the US court, Aires and his associates paid South African officials USD2.7 million in connection with two 2016 transactions involving SAA. This relates to kickbacks for a ground-handling contract between SAA and Swissport.

According to the Zondo Commission, SAA concluded a five-year ground handling contract a month after Swissport had secured a service-level agreement with JM Aviation. Under this agreement, the US company was paid ZAR28.5 million rands (USD1.5 million), which was used to pay the kickbacks to those who had assisted in "facilitating" the finalisation of the SAA/Swissport contract. The South African officials were businessman Daluxolo Peter, reported to have received ZAR20 million (USD1 million); former JM Aviation director Vuyisile Ndzeku; former SAA head of procurement Lester Peter; and Nontsasa Memela.

The Commission also noted that JM Aviation never paid the South African Revenue Services (SARS) Value Added Tax (VAT) on the ZAR28.5 million it received from Swissport before concluding the ground-handling contract with SAA.

The US legal action against Aires is likely to lead to further FCPA investigations, according to Mike Koehler of the FCPA Professor law blog. He points out that AAR's most recent annual report (July 19, 2024) reveals that the company has been investigating potential FCPA violations in Nepal and South Africa. "Based on these investigations, in fiscal 2019, we self-reported these matters to the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and the UK Serious Fraud Office. The company is fully cooperating with the reviews by these agencies, although we are unable at this time to predict what action, if any, they may take," it stated. ch-aviation has reached out to AAR for comment. The Zondo Commission said its intention was to engage with the DOJ on the role AAR had played in the scheme. AAR has been fingered by the Nepali authorities over its involvement in Nepal Airlines' acquisition of two A330-200s.

In May 2023, South Africa's former public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan referred to legal investigations in South Africa when he disclosed that a ZAR1.3 billion (USD67.6 million) civil claim had been lodged concerning an irregular contract with JM Aviation, while a criminal case had also been opened with the South African Police Services (SAPS).