New Delhi : The Ministry of Civil Aviation sources on Wednesday said it will not conduct a separate probe in the Air Asia matter, which is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The ministry further said that it has not received any CBI details on the probe yet.
On Tuesday, the CBI booked Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes among others under the Prevention of Corruption Act for allegedly violating aviation rule to get international flying licenses.
The probe agency also booked Air Asia Director (Bengaluru) Ramachandran Venkataramanan, and DTA consultancy founder Deepak Talwar.
Director denies allegations However, Venkataramanan on Wednesday said allegations of wrongdoing against him are baseless and that he has been wrongly named as an accused.
The budget carrier is majority-owned by Tatas and Venkataramanan has around 1.5 per cent shareholding in the joint venture with AirAsia Berhad.
“In my capacity as non-executive director of Air Asia India, I have been wrongly named as an accused by the CBI on operational matters where I had little or no role to play,” he said.
“It is commonly known that the present accusations qua Air Asia India find their root in baseless allegations made by Cyrus P Mistry and the Shapoor Pallonji Group against Tata Trusts Trustees (me included) and Tata Sons in his ‘revenge’ legal actions,” the statement said.
Venkataramanan is also the managing trustee of the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and is responsible for management and oversight of all the Tata Trusts, as per Tata Trusts website.
Emphasising that all allegations of wrongdoing or illegality against him are baseless, Venkataramanan said these motivated allegations are part of the smear campaign run to discredit him and the work being done by the Tata Trusts, which contribute Rs 1,200 crore each year to philanthropic activities.
“Despite, Cyrus Mistry and his company’s efforts to discredit the Trusts, we resolve to enhance the quality of life of our people,” he noted.
This photograph taken on March 8, 2018 shows an airplane of Air Asia, the low-cost airline headquartered in Malaysia, returning to park after landing at the Kempe Gowda International Airport in Bangalore.
Shares of budget carrier AirAsia fell to a six-month low on May 30 after Indian authorities raided the airline's local offices and accused its boss Tony Fernandes of illegally obtaining operating licences.
/ AFP PHOTO / Manjunath KIRAN