AirAsia India (Bengaluru International) Director R Venkataramanan has been summoned for questioning by India's Central Bureau of Investigations in a corruption probe concerning the way the LCC has tried to obtain its licence for international flights, the Times of India has reported.
The questioning has been scheduled for July 3 and follows an earlier interview with the carrier's CFO Deepak Mahendra.
The CBI alleges that AirAsia India, a joint-venture between AirAsia Group and Tata Group, has colluded with the former government in order to obtain a go-ahead for international services despite not fulfilling the "5/20" rule. The law stipulates that, in order to be able to fly internationally, an Indian carrier needs to operate domestic routes for five years and have a fleet of at least twenty aircraft.
The CBI also alleges that AirAsia India was de facto operated as a subsidiary of the Malaysian group rather than as a true joint-venture, thus breaking the control and ownership rules which bar foreign entities from exercising an effective control of Indian-registered airlines.
The Enforcement Directorate is also probing allegations of money laundering.
According to the CBI, those named in the case include Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tony Fernandes, as well as several other executives and then government officials.
AirAsia Group has been vigorously denying all allegations and has said it intends to fully cooperate with the CBI.
However, a recently revealed Deloitte audit from 2016 identified financial malpractices at the carrier, implicating the then-CEO Mittu Chandilya, The Economic Times has reported. Chandilya denies these accusations and has said he will press defamation charges against both AirAsia and Deloitte.
In November 2016, AirAsia initiated both criminal and civil proceedings against Chandilya. The CBI, however, alleges that AirAsia had been, in fact, not only aware of the malpractices but also consciously violating the law.
AirAsia India was set up in 2013 and, according to the ch-aviation fleets module, currently operates eighteen A320-200s, meaning it is only nearing the threshold to launch international flights now. The LCC currently operates an exclusively domestic network.
