The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday registered a case under Foreign Exchange Management Act to probe the allegations made by ousted Tata Group Chairman Cyrus Mistry involving AirAsia airlines, PTI reported. The ED directed the airlines’ officials to submit relevant documents and explain the matter to investigators next week.
The agency will look at the specific transaction of over 12 crore which was paid to Singapore-based HNR Trading. Mistry had said the expenses involved non-existent entities in India and Singapore. The ED said that the payment was made to HNR Trading for consultancy services but there is no ‘proper’ agreement for the transaction, reported The Indian Express.
A day after he was removed from his post in the company, Mistry claimed that investigations into AirAsia’s accounts had revealed the fraudulent transactions worth Rs 22 crore. Mistry had also accused the board of “wrongful dismissal” and had said that they faced $18 billion (Rs 1.15 lakh crore approximately) in write downs or reduction in value of assets.
In 2013, Tata Sons entered a joint venture with AirAsia and Telestra Tradeplace to start low cost carrier AirAsia India. In October 2016, Mistry was pushed out of the group after a massive fallout.
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