After the Central Bureau of Investigation booked Air Asia Director Ramachandran Venkatraman in connection with scam in Air Asia clearance the latter on Wednesday issued a statement refuting the allegation.
In a statement, he said, "In my capacity as non-executive director of Air Asia India Limited, I have been wrongly named as an accused by the CBI on operational matters where I had little or no role to play. It is commonly known that the present accusations qua Air Asia India find their root in baseless allegations made by Mr Cyrus P Mistry and the Shapoor Pallonji Group against Tata Trusts Trustees (me included) and Tata Sons in his 'revenge' legal actions."
He further added, "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 India was one of the many airlines that had formally sought a review of this policy."
The CBI on Tuesday booked Air Asia Group CEO Tony Fernandes among others under the Prevention of Corruption Act for violating aviation rule to get international flying licenses.
The probe agency also booked Air Asia Director, Bengaluru Ramachandran Venkatraman, and DTA consultancy Pvt Ltd founder Deepak Talwar.
The investigative agency alleged that the Air Asia Group CEO lobbied with government servants for clearances, removal of existing 5/20 aviation rule and change in regulatory policies.
Under the 5/20 rule, a company needs a minimum of five years of flying experience and is also required to have 20 aircraft in their possession in order to become eligible for the license.
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