Air Asia's R Venkatraman denies wrongdoing; alleges smear campaign by Cyrus Mistry against Tata Sons

R Venkatraman, the non-executive director of Air Asia India has issued a statement saying that he has been wrongly named as an accused by the CBI.

Claiming that all the allegations made against him are 'baseless', Venkatraman in his statement has said, "It is commonly known that the present accusations qua Air Asia India find their root in basless allegations made by Cyrus P Mistry and the Shapoor Pallonji Group against Tata Trusts Trustees (myself included) and Tata Sons in his 'revenge' legal actions.

"Emails purportedly written by me have been circulated in the media in the context of the issue of 5/20 in the aviation sector. This has been a much debated policy matter and Air Asia was one of many airlines that had formally sought a review of this policy," he said in his statement.

Venkatraman further added that all the allegations of wrongdoing or illegality against him are 'baseless'. "These motivated allegations are part of the smear campaign run to discredit me and the work being done by Tata Trusts, which contributes Rs 1,200 crore each year to philanthropic activities. Despite Cyrus Mistry and his company' efforts to discredit the Trusts, we resolve to enhance the quality of the life of our people," he said in the statement.

The CBI had on Tursday filed a case against Venkatraman,  Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes and others over alleged violation of norms for getting international flying licenses.

The case relates to alleged violation of norms by directors of the aviation company for relaxation of 5/20 rules in the aviation sector to get licenses for international operations, as well as violation of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB)rules, they said. The 5/20 rule means that a company needs five years of experience and 20 aircraft to become eligible for the license, the officials said.