‘UK fraud office never reached out to AirAsia’
O Fernandes and Kamarudin say this is clear violation of legal principle of fairness and access to justice
PETALING JAYA: AirAsia was never contacted by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for any explanation or clarification during its four-year investigation into the Airbus scandal, say its chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
This was in reference to the deferred prosecution agreement entered into by Airbus SE and the SFO on Jan 31.
In return for a suspension of prosecution, Airbus has agreed to pay a significant fine and costs to the SFO and also agreed to a statement of facts.
“The investigation by the SFO, which reportedly took four years, did not even once reach out to us (nor AirAsia, as stated in their press release of Feb 1, 2020) for any explanation or clarification.
“This is a clear violation of the fundamental legal principle of fairness and access to justice.
“We categorically deny all allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct on our part as executives and directors of AirAsia,” their statement read.
They said Caterham F1, the company alleged to have been sponsored improperly by Airbus, was at that time a Formula 1 racing team that had gone around the globe promoting among others AirAsia, AirAsia X, General Electric and Airbus.
“Throughout the period we were shareholders in Caterham, the company made no profits and was eventually disposed of for £1 in 2014,” they said, adding it was a branding exercise and not a venture to make profits.
Fernandes and Kamarudin said they would be relinquishing their posts for an initial period of two months, which may be extended at the discretion of the AirAsia board as deemed fit based on the “prevailing circumstances”.
This, they said, is to facilitate a full and independent inquiry by AirAsia.
However, Fernandes and Kamarudin said they have agreed to continue assisting the firm in an advisory capacity as required.
It was previously reported that the SFO had accused AirAsia and AirAsia X executives of receiving a US$50 million bribe from Airbus as part of a deal to secure an order for 180 aircraft.
British prosecutors accused Airbus of paying the sum to sponsor a sports team jointly owned by two unnamed executives.
The documents also claimed that Airbus employees had tried to pay an additional US$55 million to the AirAsia and AirAsia X directors and/or employees but could not do so as there was a freeze on payments to agents and intermediaries in October 2014.