Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Friday that between October 2013 and January 2015, Airbus’s then-parent EADS paid US$50 million to sponsor a sports team that was jointly owned by two people described as AirAsia Executive 1 and Executive 2.
The SFO said the executives were rewarded for an aircraft order from Airbus, an allegation AirAsia denied late on Saturday.
“The Securities Commission Malaysia will examine the allegations and review all available evidence to determine if there is any breach of securities laws,” Syed Zaid Albar, the regulator’s chairman, said in a statement.
Directors who act with the intent to cause wrongful loss to their listed firms can face jail or fines, he said.
Malaysia’s anti-graft agency has already launched a separate investigation into the allegations.
AirAsia said in its Saturday statement that it had not been involved with the SFO’s investigation of Airbus or given any opportunity to provide clarification. It denied any wrongdoing.
Reached for comment by Reuters on Sunday, the company pointed to the statement that said it would fully cooperate with “relevant authorities where required”. Airbus said it had no comment.
AirAsia, Asia’s largest budget airline group, runs an all-Airbus fleet of 274 planes.
