The Nepalese Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority has summoned the representatives of AAR Aircraft Sales & Leasing, Hi Fly X Ireland, Hi Fly, German Aviation Capital GmbH, and Norton Rose Fulbright to testify regarding the acquisition of two A330-200s by Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu), The Kathmandu Times has reported.

The parties have been given until April 26 to appear in front of the Nepalese anti-corruption commission after they all had ignored the previous summons issued in March.

"We have extended the second summons notice as per the investigation process. Failure to comply with this notice shall result in legal action as per prevailing laws," Commission spokesperson Pradip Kumar Koirala said.

In January, a parliamentary commission stated that the acquisition of two Airbus widebodies for the flag carrier was done at a loss of NPR4.35 billion rupees (USD39 million) to the government.

The MPs questioned, in particular, the routing of the transaction through an Irish SPV, Hi Fly X Ireland.

In 2017, Hi Fly, AAR, and German Aviation Capital jointly won a tender to handle the acquisition of the two A330s for Nepal Airlines. The company then deposited USD79 million into an escrow account held by Norton Rose Fulbright as an advance payment for the two widebody aircraft. The advance payment was subsequently released to Hi Fly, while the remainder of the payment was made to Hi Fly X, a joint venture of the three tender winners.