A South Korean aviation firm that hired President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen failed last year to disclose that it was the subject of a corruption investigation as it won work from the U.S. military, records show.
On Oct. 11, nine current and former executives at Korea Aerospace Industries were indicted in Seoul on charges that included bribery, embezzlement and defrauding the South Korean government, records show.
Just two weeks later, KAI cleared a business integrity review by the U.S Air Force and won a contract worth up to $48 million — its largest ever from the Air Force — to maintain fighter jets.
Experts said the criminal case should have subjected the company to additional scrutiny. But KAI did not alter filings it had previously submitted to the U.S. government certifying that none of its executives were under indictment, according to a public database of federal contracting information.
Cohen was a consultant for KAI at the time, part of an arrangement that lasted less than six months and spanned the indictments and the awarding of the Air Force contract. Cohen’s firm was paid $150,000 when the relationship ended in November. There is no indication Cohen was involved in the awarding of the contract. KAI said he was not, and the Air Force said no senior leaders or contracting officers were contacted by Cohen.
Even so, the payment to Cohen’s firm could draw new attention to the aviation company’s ethics disclosures and to a much larger contract it is considered a front-runner to win with Lockheed Martin to provide the U.S. military with more than 300 supersonic training jets — a deal worth an estimated $18 billion.
Companies are required to provide “immediate written notice” if their “certification was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances,” according to federal guidelines.
