Two face fraud charges

The men are charged with conspiring to defraud Shorts plc

Two men have been charged in connection with a £2m fraud involving Belfast based aerospace company Shorts.

Dennis Ernest Clarke, 43, from Greenvale Park View, Antrim, and William Spiers Black, 47, from Lissane Road, Saintfield, County Down appeared before Belfast Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

They were charged with conspiring together to defraud Shorts plc by making false claims for payment of invoices submitted by a London company, MPI Aviation Ltd.

Mr Clarke also faced a charge of money laundering by allegedly using the proceeds of criminal conduct to open bank accounts in Antrim to avoid prosecution under the Proceeds of Crime legislation.

An inspector from the PSNI's Financial Investigation Unit told the court the case involved approximately £2m.

The charges relate to invoices for hours worked by sub contractors of Shorts's parent company, Bombardier, which were submitted to MPI Aviation and then forwarded to Shorts for payment.

The charges cover a two-year period and during that time detectives have seized documents in London and at Bombardier's headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

A leading firm of forensic accounts has been brought in to analyse the documents.

The two defendants were remanded until 19 November on their own bail of £5,000 each.