AOG Technics director pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading
The director of UK-based aerospace parts company AOG Technics, Jose Alejandro Zamora Yralla, has pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading over the sale of aircraft engine parts with forged documents.
Zamora Yralla admitted operating AOG Technics for a fraudulent purpose two years after the planes were grounded globally after the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued safety alerts to airlines that may have purchased or installed parts from the company.
Following this alert, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched an investigation in October 2023, working with Portuguese authorities into the supply of suspected safety certificates and spare parts.
Entering his plea at Southwark Crown Court, Zamora Yralla admitted “falsifying documents relating to the origin, source, condition and/or condition of aircraft parts” between January 2019 and December 2023. The parts sold by the company were installed in the world’s most widely used passenger aircraft engine, the CFM56, and AOG Technic’s clients included airlines, maintenance repair operators and engine parts suppliers.
Harriet Sassoon, a prosecutor at the Serious Fraud Office, said after the conviction: “The Fraud Office chain secured Mr Zamora Yralla’s conviction for fraudulent trading. Mr Zamora Yralla is the sole director of AOG technics, a UK-based aircraft spare parts broker.” “Mr Zamora, through AOG Technologies, sold aircraft engine parts with false certificates. These parts were then installed in aircraft all over the world. The aircraft were grounded in the UK and abroad following safety notices issued by aviation regulators. This guilty plea represents a significant finding for the Serious Fraud Office. We will return to court in the new year for sentencing.”
Emma Loxton, operations director at the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), added: “This significant and audacious fraud has threatened confidence in the aviation industry and threatened public safety on a global scale.” “I am extremely proud that we acted quickly to secure this conviction and would like to thank our law enforcement partners in Portugal for their quick and important assistance.”
Zamora Yralla will appear before Southwark Crown Court on February 23, 2026 for sentencing. The maximum penalty for fraudulent trading is 10 years imprisonment. The investigation by the Portuguese authorities is still ongoing.
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