The Serious Fraud Office says AOG Technics sold more than 60,000 aircraft engine parts accompanied by forged Authorised Release Certificates (ARCs) between January 2019 and July 2023. That is a count of parts sold with false documentation—not 60,000 aircraft, 60,000 installed components, or proof that every part was physically defective.
How many parts were sold, and what do the money figures mean?
The SFO’s February 2026 sentencing release gives four different measures of scale. They describe different things and should not be added together or treated as interchangeable.
| Measure | What the SFO reported | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Parts sold with forged ARCs | More than 60,000, from January 2019 through July 2023 | A count of engine parts sold with forged release certificates, not a count of aircraft or confirmed installations. SFO, 23 February 2026 |
| Value of those parts | £6.9 million | The stated value of parts sold with forged certificates; it is not the reported loss figure. SFO, 23 February 2026 |
| Company revenue | More than £7.7 million over four years, with 90% attributed to fraud | Reported company revenue over that period, a separate measure from the value of the parts and from the reported fraud figure. SFO, 23 February 2026 |
| Reported fraud or losses | £39.3 million | The SFO’s reported fraud figure; the agency says airlines including American Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines, as well as manufacturers, suffered losses estimated above this amount. SFO, 23 February 2026 |
Most of the parts were for CFM56 engines, which the SFO describes as the world’s most widely used commercial aircraft engine. CFM56 engines power Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft, so the documentation problem reached a major commercial-engine supply chain. The aircraft types alone do not show how many individual planes received affected parts. SFO, 1 December 2025
What was the AOG Technics fraud?
The SFO says AOG Technics sold engine parts with forged ARCs, documents used to evidence an aircraft component’s release and approval status. The case concerned whether the paperwork and claimed provenance could be trusted. A forged certificate does not, by itself, establish that the physical part was counterfeit or that every part was unairworthy.
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In its 2023 notice, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) described the components as suspected unapproved parts. EASA also said that, at the time of the notice, it had not been supplied with the source of the parts and forged certificates. EASA Safety Information Bulletin, 4 August 2023
How were the certificates and records falsified?
According to the SFO, company director Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala altered genuine ARCs. He also prepared false shipment memoranda to make it appear that AOG Technics had bought parts directly from original equipment manufacturers such as Safran. The SFO says he invented sales and quality employees whose names appeared in communications with customers and in company documents. SFO, 23 February 2026
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An airline’s inquiry to Safran about a certificate’s authenticity led to the discovery of a fake certificate. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and EASA then issued alerts. The false records made parts appear to have a verifiable approval and supply history when the named organisations had not issued the certificates.
Were the parts installed on passenger aircraft?
The SFO says aircraft in the UK and elsewhere were grounded in 2023 after airlines that might have bought or installed AOG parts were alerted. Its case chronology also records that suspect CFM56 parts entered service-related supply chains. These statements establish that the issue prompted operational action, but the official material cited here does not give a final count of installed parts or affected aircraft. SFO, 23 February 2026 SFO case chronology
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What did aviation regulators tell organisations to do?
The notices addressed aviation owners, operators, maintenance organisations, and distributors—not general consumers. Their central instruction was to trace parts and verify certificates with the organisation named on each document.
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- EASA: Review records for parts obtained directly or indirectly from AOG Technics and check each ARC with the approved organisation named on it. If that organisation says it did not issue the certificate, EASA recommended quarantining the part; if it was already installed, EASA recommended replacing it with an approved part. EASA, 4 August 2023
- UK CAA: Issued a safety notice about suspected parts distributed by AOG Technics on 4 August 2023. UK CAA, 4 August 2023
- FAA: Issued a similar notice on 21 September 2023, according to the SFO’s case chronology. SFO case chronology
- Transport Canada: Recommended reviewing records and inventory, verifying certificates with the named approved organisation, and quarantining affected inventory. It says a confirmed falsified certificate on an installed part calls for replacement with an approved part. Transport Canada alert
What happened in the criminal case?
- 4 August 2023: The UK CAA and EASA issued safety notices concerning suspected AOG Technics parts. SFO case chronology
- 21 September 2023: The FAA issued a similar notice, according to the SFO chronology. SFO case chronology
- 1 December 2025: Zamora Yrala pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading at Southwark Crown Court. The SFO release on that date said a Portuguese investigation remained ongoing; that is the status stated in that release, not confirmation of its present outcome. SFO, 1 December 2025
- 23 February 2026: He was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. The SFO said this concluded its substantive case, while its proceeds-of-crime case remained ongoing on the case-page update. SFO, 23 February 2026 SFO case chronology
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