Air Asia chief executive Tony Fernandes denies $50m bribery claims
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The chief executive of Malaysian airline Air Asia Tony Fernandes today denied allegations he was paid a $50m (£38m) bribe via his Formula 1 team by aircraft giant Airbus.
Prosecutors alleged Airbus paid a bribe of $50m through sponsorship of the now-defunct Caterham F1 team which was owned by Fernandes to win orders from Air Asia.
“We categorically deny all allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct on our part as executives and directors of Air Asia,” Fernandes and Air Asia executive chairman Datuk Kamarudin bin Meranun said in an op-ed today.
Fernandes, who is a major shareholder in Championship football club Queens Park Rangers, owned Caterham until 2014.
“Caterham F1, the company alleged to have been sponsored improperly by Airbus, was at the relevant time a Formula 1 racing team that had gone round the globe promoting amongst others Air Asia, Air Asia X, GE and Airbus,” they said.
“Throughout the period we were shareholders in Caterham, the company made no profit and was eventually disposed of for £1 in 2014. From start to finish, this was a branding exercise and not a venture to make profit.”
The allegations by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) concerned a 2012 sponsorship deal between Caterham and Airbus’ then-parent, EADS.
Air Asia said yesterday that Fernandes and Meranun would step aside from their executive roles for two months while the claims were investigated.
Fernandes and Meranun hit out at the SFO today which they said had not contacted them or Air Asia about the allegations.
“The investigation by the SFO which reportedly took four years did not even once reach out to us (nor Air Asia) for any explanation or clarification,” they said.
“This is a clear violation of the fundamental legal principle of fairness and access to justice,” they added.
On Friday, Airbus agreed to a record €3.6bn (£3bn) settlement with authorities in the US, France and the UK to conclude a probe into allegations it paid bribes to airlines and governments around the world to help secure aircraft orders.
Air Asia was named in the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) as a target for bribes from Airbus, alongside Sri Lankan Airlines, Taiwanese airline Trans Asia Airways, Indonesian flag carrier Garuda and the government of Ghana..
Air Asia’s share price plunged ten per cent to 1.15 Malaysian ringitt today, having closed on Friday at 1.43 Malaysian ringitt.
Lisa Osofsky, director of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said: “Airbus paid bribes through agents around the world to stack the decks in its favour and win contracts around the globe.”