AIRASIA Group Bhd has denied allegations that the low-cost airline’s directors/employees received RM204 mil in bribes from European planemaker Airbus SE, as was reported by FocusM and other media outlets today.
AirAsia said in a Feb 1 statement that “at the outset” it was “neither involved in any way whatsoever” with the UK Serious Fraud Office’s (SFO) investigation of Airbus “nor given any opportunity to provide any information or clarification to the SFO.”
Citing court documents, FocusM reported earlier that the directors and/or employees of low-cost carrier AirAsia Group and its long-haul unit AirAsia X Bhd have been said to be recipients of a US$50 mil (RM204 mil) bribe from European planemaker Airbus SE.
According to British prosecutors, Airbus paid the sum to sponsor a sports team jointly owned by two unnamed AirAsia executives in Malaysia. Airbus allegedly made the payment to secure an order for 180 aircraft.
The documents also said that Airbus employees also attempted to pay an additional US$55 mil to the directors and/or employees of AirAsia and AirAsia X but were prevented by an October 2014 freeze to agents and intermediaries.
“AirAsia vigorously rejects and denies any and all allegations of wrongdoing,” the company said.
The findings of the SFO also triggered the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the allegations with commissioner Latheefa Koya saying in a Feb 1 statement that under the MACC Act “we are empowered, and have jurisdiction, to investigate any act of corruption committed by any Malaysian citizen or permanent resident in any place outside Malaysia.”
Below is AirAsia’s statement reproduced in full:
SEPANG, 1 February 2020 — AirAsia refers to the article entitled “AirAsia directors/staff got RM240 mil bribe from Airbus, court docs say” on the focusmalaysia.my website, as well as other articles in the press regarding the Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into by Airbus SE and the U.K. Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on 31 January 2020. At the outset, AirAsia wishes to clearly state that it was neither involved in any way whatsoever with the SFO’s investigation of Airbus nor given any opportunity to provide any information or clarification to the SFO.
The articles referenced above allege that certain agreements by AirAsia to order Airbus aircraft were improperly linked to sponsorship by Airbus of a sports team jointly owned by AirAsia executives. AirAsia vigorously rejects and denies any and all allegations of wrongdoing.
The entering into of each aircraft purchase agreement was never made by any single individual decision, but instead arrived at through careful evaluation, deliberation and the collective decision of the board members after taking into account technical specifications, aircraft flight performance and operating economics. The superiority and reliability of the aircraft and increasingly attractive pricing being offered to maintain our competitive edge in the airline business were key considerations. As a customer of Airbus since 2005, AirAsia never made purchase decisions that were premised on an Airbus sponsorship.
We also wish to emphasise that all negotiations and dealings leading to the signing of any aircraft purchase agreement have been undertaken directly with Airbus on an arm’s length basis, and without the involvement of any third parties or intermediaries. AirAsia executives negotiated rigorously in the interests of the company and had at all times acted in good faith. In any event, AirAsia is aware that correspondence between the company and Airbus dating back more than a decade has been reported in the press without proper context or review, and we are concerned that views and opinions on the matter may have been formed unfairly and prematurely.
Furthermore, the involvement of Airbus in the sponsorship of the sports team was a well-known and widely-publicised matter bringing branding and other benefits to Airbus. AirAsia’s own sponsorship of the sports team went through due internal assessment and approvals before being considered and approved by the board.
As AirAsia and its executives have no visibility on Airbus’ internal processes, we cannot comment on or be associated with any alleged failures or lapses on the part of Airbus to comply with its own policies or applicable legal requirements.
AirAsia is deeply concerned that these allegations will have an adverse and negative impact on the AirAsia brand, reputation and goodwill. AirAsia is monitoring developments in this matter and will review any allegations or negative inferences concerning or affecting AirAsia and/or any of its executives and will fully cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the relevant authorities where required.
