By Emmanuel Samarathisa
AIRASIA Group Bhd (AAGB) founders Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun were “in shock” when news broke out that AirAsia executives allegedly received bribes worth US$50 mil (RM205 mil) from European planemaker Airbus SE, according to a memo to AirAsia staff on Feb 3.
In the memo addressed to its “All Stars”, the moniker for AirAsia staff, Fernandes and Kamarudin said “with a heavy heart” they had decided to put the company “first” and “show the world what type of people we are” in stepping down to make way for investigators.
“When you are famous there are many that are jealous and want to bring you down,” said Fernandes and Kamarudin, who are also top executives and key shareholders of AAGB and AirAsia X Bhd (AAX).
In a Bursa filing late Feb 3, AAGB announced that Fernandes and Kamarudin would relinquish their executive positions within the group, effective immediately. The airline said the relinquishment would be for a period of two months or such other period that the company may deem fit.
In the interim, Tharumalingam Kanagalingam (also known as Bo Lingam) has been appointed as the acting AAGB CEO.
Citing UK court documents, FocusM reported on Feb 1 that directors and/or employees of AAGB and AAX were allegedly the recipients of a US$50 mil bribe from Airbus.
According to British prosecutors from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), 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 Airbus employees also attempted to pay an additional US$55 mil to the directors and/or employees of AAGB and AAX but were prevented by an October 2014 freeze on payments to agents and intermediaries.
According to a Reuters report on Feb 1, the allegations concern a 2012 sponsorship agreement between the now-defunct Caterham Formula 1 racing team, founded by AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes, and Airbus’s then-parent, EADS.
But both men in the staff memo defended their involvement with Caterham.
“We built and (sic) amazing brand and F1 was part of it. We are all in shock. We did nothing wrong. But another challenge and we come back stronger. I will be firmly behind Bo in making sure we come out stronger from corona virus,” they said.
At the time of writing, regulators Malaysian Aviation Commission and Securities Commission Malaysia as well as enforcement agency Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission have launched independent investigations into the scandal. – Feb 4, 2020
