Former Caterham owner mentioned in bribery scandal

Tony Fernandes, the owner of former Formula 1 team, Caterham, has been mentioned in an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office into bribery at Airbus. Fernandes has denied all of the allegations.

There is currently an ongoing worldwide investigation into fraud at Airbus, where the aircraft manufacturer has already been fined 3.5 billion euros. Fernandes was mentioned in this study because he was not only the owner of Caterham at the time but also the founder and co-owner of Air Asia.

What did Air Asia and Caterham have to do with each other?

In their time in Formula 1, Caterham was not only sponsored by Air Asia but also by Airbus. For the sponsorship of the team, 50 million dollars would have been transferred to the directors of Air Asia, and in return, the airline has been flying exclusively with Airbus aircraft for years.

Because Caterham and Air Asia are officially unrelated, this deal is viewed as a form of bribery by Dame Victoria Sharp, the UK judge of the case. Where support to a Formula 1 team has been a reason for the purchase of the aircraft.

Fernandes has denied the allegations, but has, together with his partner Datuk Kamarudin, made himself temporarily inactive. According to them, that is intended to take a good look at the accusations to then be able to take the necessary steps against them in a legal battle.