Enforcement Directorate to file money laundering case against AirAsia Group

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried searches in three states and collected various documents pertaining to the AirAsia case and shared it with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The ED will file a money laundering against AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, Air Asia India Limited (AAIL), and its Director R Venkataramanan, AirAsia Berhad (Malaysia), and others. The ED is also going through documents and analysing the emails exchanged between senior executives of AirAsia and the Tata Group to figure out the money trail in the case.

The agency registered a corruption case against Fernandes, aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar, and others for alleged violation of norms in getting licence for international operations. They also carried out searches at five places in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

The CBI had registered a case against AirAsia on Tuesday and also found that Venkataramanan, who is named in the FIR, allegedly got personal assurances from then civil aviation minister Ajit Singh. He also got assurance from the head of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to go ahead with investment plans for international operations. "Met Mr Ajit Singh a short while ago. He said approvals should come soon and that our planning should be on the basis of the 5/20 rule getting scrapped," reads the email by Venkataramanan to top AirAsia executive Tharumalingam Kanagalingam, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia, who is also named in the CBI FIR.

The case relates to the allegations of getting relaxation from the 5/20 rules of the Ministry of Aviation for procuring licence and also from the FIPB rules during the UPA regime in 2013 and 2014. As per the 5/20 rule, national carriers are required to have five years of operational experience and a fleet of minimum 20 aircraft to fly overseas. It is alleged that accused persons bribed public servants and others for securing permit for the operation of international services.

The ED further stated that the accused "intentionally chose to beat the legal frameworks and policies of the aviation sector". Venkatramanan was involved in lobbying with stakeholders in the central government to secure mandatory approvals, some of them through non-transparent means, including the then FIPB clearance, NoC, and an attempted removal and modification of the 5/20 rule.

The CBI stated, "In furtherance of the said criminal conspiracy, AirAsia (India) through Fernandes employed Kapur as a lobbying agent, who was given the on-board catering contract as a quid pro quo without any negotiation."