Ethiopian Airlines Lost $1.5 Million in Fake Plane Parts Scam, UK Court Hears

EBR_News Feb 26, 2026

By Betegbar Yaregal

Ethiopian Airlines purchased more than 5,600 counterfeit aircraft engine parts worth approximately USD1.49 million App (£1.1 million) from a fraudulent UK company whose director was sentenced this week to four years and eight months in prison, a London court has heard.

Jose Alejandro Zamora Yrala, 38, a former techno DJ operating from his home garage in Surrey, sold fake components including seals, bushings, vanes, bolts, and washers to major airlines through his company AOG Technics between 2019 and 2023, according to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. The parts were fitted into CFM56 engines, the world’s most widely used commercial aircraft engine powering Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes.

Prosecutor Faras Baloch told Southwark Crown Court that Ethiopian Airlines purchased 5,627 individual parts with false documentation. American Airlines, which did not buy directly from AOG, still found 28 of its engines affected, incurring losses exceeding £21 million .

The fraud was discovered in 2023 when a bolt supplied to Portuguese airline TAP Air Portugal would not fit during maintenance, prompting an investigation that revealed forged Authorised Release Certificates documents guaranteeing airworthiness. Zamora Yrala used his home computer to doctor genuine certificates and invented fictional employees including “Michael Smith” and “Johnny Rico” to create the illusion of a legitimate business.

The discovery triggered safety alerts from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, US Federal Aviation Administration, and European Union Aviation Safety Agency in August 2023, leading to aircraft groundings worldwide and total industry losses estimated at £39.3 million.

Judge Simon Picken said Zamora Yrala’s actions constituted “a more or less complete undermining of a regulatory framework designed to safeguard the millions of people who fly every day”. The defendant was also disqualified from acting as a company director for eight years and will face proceeds of crime proceedings later this year. A related Portuguese investigation continues with three people in custody.