Ryanair pilot supplier reported to be at centre of tax evasion probe
British police and German investigators searched Brookfield Aviation International headquarters
The Times of London reports this morning that a company that supplies Ryanair with pilots is at the centre of an international investigation for tax evasion.
It is understood both British police and German investigators have searched the headquarters of Brookfield Aviation International in Surrey, the company believed to supply half of Ryanair’s pilots.
The raid is detailed in an exclusive report in The Times of London.
“We are aware of the investigation and are assisting the German authorities with same,” Ryanair said in a statement to Newstalk.
“This is a matter for Brookfield and its pilot contractors. However, the use of contract staff continues to be both legal and widespread in the airline industry.
“Ryanair requires all of its contractors, including Brookfield, to comply fully with national regulations and authorities. Brookfield have advised us that they expect these enquiries will be resolved satisfactorily in the not too distant future,” the airline added.
German prosecutors have claimed that the crew were not independent sub-contractors for tax purposes but employed by Brookfield and leased to the airline.
HMRC has issued a “protective assessment” for £47 million relating to income tax and national insurance contributions between 2010 and 2013.
The British home secretary Theresa May granted the Surrey police a search warrant to raid the Brookfield offices in April.
German prosecutors began an investigation after receiving an anonymous report that Brookfield was a “letterbox company” controlled by Ryanair.
German prosecutors told British authorities that Brookfield’s relationship with Ryanair pilots was allegedly “pseudo self-employment even under British law”.
They allege that Brookfield was involved in tax evasion by withholding tax and social insurance contributions for its German crew.
It is reported in the German media that the pilots wear Ryanair uniforms they were obliged to be on-call 11 months of the year and that they have no right to refuse shifts.
If they are found to be effectively full-time employees, the company could be compelled to repay insurance and state pension contribution payments.
A spokesman for the airline told the London Times that it “requires all of its contractors to comply fully with national regulations and authorities”. He denied that Brookfield was a letterbox company controlled by the airline.
German prosecutors are quoted in The London Times as saying that “contrary to Ryanair’s statements,” the workers are not self-employed – rather they are employed by Brookfield, and leased to the airline.
