[ By Bobby Anthony ]AirAsia CEO Anthony (Tony) Francis Fernandes has temporarily stepped down even as Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission has begun an investigation into alleged bribes paid by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.Besides Fernandes, the airlines' Executive Director Kamarudin Meranun has also stepped down.“Kamarudin Meranun and CEO Anthony Francis Fernandes, have...
AirAsia CEO Anthony (Tony) Francis Fernandes has temporarily stepped down even as Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission has begun an investigation into alleged bribes paid by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
Besides Fernandes, the airlines' Executive Director Kamarudin Meranun has also stepped down.
“Kamarudin Meranun and CEO Anthony Francis Fernandes, have notified the committee that they will relinquish their executive positions within the Group, effective immediately, for a period of two months or such other period that the Company may deem fit,” an AirAsia statement stated.
AirAsia added that “as advisors, they will not have executive authority within the AirAsia Group”.
The two AirAsia officials have stepped down as authorities look into claims that Airbus had paid AirAsia USD 50 million to secure an aircraft order.
Recently, Airbus had stated that it agreed to set aside up to 3.6 billion euros to settle a corruption probe by authorities in France, Britain and the United States.
As news of the probe widened, the Malaysia-based AirAsia was named in a bribery investigation by Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO), allegedly implicating two company executives.
The announcement came after Airbus announced recently that it had reached agreements with French, British and American authorities to pay fines in connection with investigations into suspected bribery and corruption.
However, the Malaysian anti-corruption commission said that it is in contact with British authorities to investigate the allegations.
Allegedly, AirAsia had agreed to buy 180 Airbus planes in exchange for the aircraft manufacturer sponsoring a Formula 1 racing team called Caterham, owned by Fernandes.
However, AirAsia has denied wrongdoing and claimed that it never used intermediaries to negotiate with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
It may be recalled that the British anti-fraud investigating agency Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had initiated a probe in 2016 against the use of intermediaries by Airbus to secure civil and military contracts.
After receiving export credits from government agencies in Europe, Airbus was obliged to mention any intermediaries involved in its contracts to avoid criminal proceedings.
Later, Airbus decided to suspend the use of these consultants and launched a transparency operation to seek a negotiated exit with several countries' authorities to avoid a judicial conviction.