Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, director of UK-based aircraft parts trader AOG Technics, has today been sentenced to 4 years 8 months in prison for orchestrating a global aircraft engine parts fraud that risked public safety and caused widespread disruption to the aviation industry. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) told Southwark Crown Court that its investigation had uncovered how Zamora, aged 38, sold parts to airlines and suppliers across the globe as part of a £39.3 million fraud conducted from his home office in Surrey. Investigators uncovered that from January 2019 to July 2023, AOG Technics sold over 60,000 aircraft engine parts worth £6.9 million accompanied by forged Authorised Release Certificates (ARCs) - documentation that guarantees airworthiness. Most of the parts AOG sold were for use in the CFM56 engine, the world's most widely used commercial aircraft engine, leading to AOG generating over £7.7 million in revenue - 90% from fraud - in just four years. AOG Technics' operation was brought to a halt in 2023, after an airline contacted Safran to check the authenticity of an AOG part.

Source: Ethiopian News February 23, 2026 15:39 UTC