Get to the root of corruption

THE fight against corruption continues unceasingly whether in Malaysia or elsewhere in the global village that the world has become. The slight improvement of Malaysia’s score on the latest Transparency International Corruption Perception index, rising to 51st position among 180 countries, offered some cheer in the battle against this scourge plaguing the country both in the public and private sectors.

But just when one would have thought things are getting better, a development offshore has raised eyebrows on a Malaysian domiciled entity. On Jan 31, Airbus and the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA). In return for a suspension of prosecution by the SFO, Airbus agreed to pay a significant fine and costs (€3.6bil) to the SFO. It also agreed to a statement of facts that appears to implicate executives of AirAsia and AirAsia X, alleging that Airbus paid a bribe of US$50mil (RM200mil) to win aircraft orders.