Last month, the U.K.’s anti-corruption enforcement agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), opened a criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery, and corruption in the civil aviation business of Airbus. The key area of concern is Airbus’ use of third-party consultants to win contracts to build passenger jets.

Neil Hodge is a freelance business journalist and photographer based in Nottingham, United Kingdom. He writes on insurance and risk management, corporate governance, internal audit, compliance, and legal...