WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Global aerospace company

AAR Corp ( AIR ) has agreed to pay more than $55 million to

resolve allegations of bribing Nepalese and South African public

officials, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on

Thursday.

The amount involved settlements with the SEC and U.S.

Justice Department.

Deepak Sharma, a former executive of a wholly owned AAR

subsidiary, also settled related SEC charges, agreeing to pay

$184,597 in disgorgement, or the return of ill-gotten gains, the

SEC said.

In a statement, AAR said U.S. authorities had credited

the company for voluntarily reporting the matter, adding the

alleged misconduct was the work of a former employee and of a

third party.

"We thank the DOJ and SEC for their collaboration and their

recognition of the company's substantial cooperation," AAR CEO

John Holmes said.

Lawyers for Sharma did not immediately respond to a request

for comment.

According to the SEC, between 2015 and 2018 Sharma allegedly

carried out a bribery scheme for AAR to win a $210 million

contract for the sale of two Airbus A330 jets to

government-owned Nepal Airlines.

The agency also alleges Sharma was involved in a separate

scheme to win an aviation services contract from a subsidiary of

South African Airways, which is also government-owned.

"The SEC's order finds that AAR paid millions of dollars in

bribes to Nepalese and South African officials as part of the

two schemes," the agency said.

Representatives of Nepal Airlines and South African Airways

did not immediately respond to requests for comment.