Corruption and Illegal Exports
Moog rated the worst Western defence company for corruption
Transparency International, the anti-corruption watchdog, publishes the Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index (DCI), an independent assessment of the public transparency of major international defence companies' anti-corruption programmes. The index evaluates companies across a range of governance and compliance measures, including ethics and anti-corruption policies, board oversight and whistleblowing arrangements. It assesses the extent to which its anti-corruption systems and disclosures are transparent and aligned with recognised international good practice.
In the most recent Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index, Moog Inc. received an overall grade of F (Very Low), placing it in the lowest band of companies assessed by Transparency International UK. According to the organisation, companies in this category demonstrate limited publicly available evidence of comprehensive anti-corruption systems and governance arrangements across the areas assessed. The methodology is based on publicly available information, meaning companies are assessed on the transparency of their published policies and reporting rather than on confidential internal procedures.
The assessment is notable because Moog operates extensively within the international defence sector, supplying components for military aircraft and other defence platforms to governments and prime contractors worldwide. Transparency and effective anti-corruption controls are widely regarded as particularly important within the defence industry because of the high value of contracts, the use of intermediaries and agents, and the significant public interest in defence procurement.
Moog has itself recognised the importance of Transparency International's work, referencing Transparency International indices and anti-corruption initiatives within its corporate sustainability reporting. The company states that it is committed to conducting business ethically and in compliance with applicable anti-corruption laws and maintains a global ethics and compliance programme. The Defence Companies Anti-Corruption Index therefore represents an external assessment of the extent to which those governance arrangements are publicly evidenced.
Moog fined over £1m for bribery and corruption
In October 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Moog Inc. had agreed to settle charges under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) relating to conduct by its wholly owned Indian subsidiary, Moog Motion Controls Private Limited. According to the SEC, between 2020 and 2022 employees of the subsidiary paid bribes to Indian government officials to secure business and influence public tenders, including through the use of third-party agents and distributors.
According to the SEC, Moog had a "prevailing culture to win business at any cost, including improper means. The widespread misconduct at Moog reflected a breakdown in internal accounting controls, training, compliance, and tone at the top of the subsidiary.
The SEC found that the payments were improperly recorded as legitimate business expenses and that Moog had violated the FCPA’s books and records and internal accounting controls provisions. Without admitting or denying the findings, Moog agreed to cease and desist from further violations and to pay approximately $1.7 million, including a $1.1 million civil penalty and approximately $600,000 in interest and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.
Moog Wolverhampton illegal shipments to Israel seized in Belgium, criminal investigation initiated
In April 2026, Belgian authorities reported the interception of shipments of military-related equipment at Liège Airport that had originated in the United Kingdom and were destined for Israel. Belgian media reported that the cargo was inspected following concerns that it contained controlled military items, and that a criminal investigation had been opened to determine whether export control or transit regulations had been breached.
“We have to see if the legislation has been respected. Here, in this case, it’s clear that it hasn’t. No transit licence was requested; if it had been, it would have been refused”
- Adrien Dolimont, Walloon minister-president
Statements from the Belgian government and media reports identified one of the seized shipments as coming from Moog's Wolverhampton factory and bound for Israel's M-346 program, with the shipment being consolidated with civilian goods including children's wheelchairs, hearing aid batteries, music amplifiers and fingerprint imaging machines. The outcome of the criminal investigation is expected in August 2026.
In early July 2026, Belgian authorities released the civilian goods that had been consolidated with the seized Moog shipment and these were shipped onwards to Israel. The Moog shipment remained in the custody of the Belgian authorities and the criminal investigation remained ongoing.
While under criminal investigation in Belgium, Moog Wolverhampton recommenced shipments of M-346 aircraft parts to Israel, completing at least four such shipments in April-May 2026, with one shipment departing Moog's Wolverhampton factory several hours after the Belgian authorities announced the seizures and criminal investigation. One further shipment of military aircraft parts to Israel commenced in June during the trial of the "Moog 4" protesters.
In May 2026, UK investigative newspaper Private Eye published allegations that, subsequent to the April 2026 seizures in Liège Airport, Moog's Wolverhampton facility continued to ship M-346 components to Israel along flight paths that overflew Belgian airspace, in apparent breach of the 16 January 2026 Royal Decree prohibiting use of Belgian airspace for any flights containing military materiel for use by the Israeli armed forces.
Private Eye alleged that Moog Wolverhampton obtained a new Open export licence from the UK Export Joint Control Unit in November 2025, which would imply that Moog's application for the licence was live at the same time as the M-346 shipments that are now under criminal investigation by the Belgian authorities.
Parliamentarians and Civil Society call for review or suspension of Moog's export licences
Following the Belgium seizures, a number of MPs wrote letters to the UK Government requesting clarification of its response to a British exporter breaking Belgian arms control laws, seemingly over a sustained period of time. Fleur Anderson MP and Sir Alan Campbell MP both wrote to John Healey, then Secretary of State for Defence, and Laura Trott MP wrote to Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, expressing concern regarding the seizures in relation to the integrity of the UK’s export control regime, how compliance is monitored and enforced, and the importance of maintaining confidence among UK allies.
On 8 May 2026, a joint letter from Amnesty International, SaferWorld and Campaign Against Arms Trade was submitted to Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Business and Trade Sub-Committee on Economic Security, Arms and Export Controls asking whether Moog Wolverhampton's export licences had been placed under review or suspension, and whether any assurances had been obtained from Moog that any future arms exports to Israel would be carried in full compliance with all applicable laws, including those of third countries such as Belgium.
On 9 June 2026, Campaign Against Arms Trade launched the lobbying campaign "Moog UK: Training Genocide Pilots", focusing on Moog's involvement supplying components for the F-35 programme and the Leonardo M-346 trainer aircraft used by the Israeli Air Force. The campaign argued that components for the M-346 should have been included in the United Kingdom's 2024 partial suspension of arms export licences to Israel and also raised concerns over the 2026 seizure by Belgian authorities of UK-origin military goods in transit to Israel, in relation to which Belgian officials confirmed that the original complaint concerned Moog. CAAT called for the suspension and review of relevant export licences and for an investigation into the continued export of trainer aircraft components to Israel.
In Birmingham, the Quaker PeaceHub launched a "Make music, not war" campaign to highlight the role that Moog Wolverhampton's exports of military aircraft parts to Israel play in supporting both the bombing of Gaza and the bombing of Lebanon and Iran in the 2026 attacks by Israel and the United States.
On 15 June 2026, 61 British Members of Parliament and several members of the House of Lords from multiple political parties, including Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, former army officer Helen Maguire MP, Dr Simon Opher MP and Josh Babarinde MP submitted a joint letter to Peter Kyle asking the Department to clarify when it first become aware of Moog illegally shipping military components to Israel via Belgium, what communications had taken place between the Department, Moog and the Belgian authorities, and what measures, including review of export licences, it was taking to enforce compliance with legal obligations.
