From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Monday registered a case against two former chairmen of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a former acting CEO, and arrested a former director of the national airline on charges of causing losses of over Rs1 billion to the exchequer.
FIA Sindh Director Amir Farooqi said the investigative body had registered a case against PIA ex-chairmen Nasser Jaffer and Irfan Elahi and former acting CEO Bernd Hildenbrand and also detained former director engineering Maqsood Ahmed.
“They caused loss of Rs1.25bn and made advance payments for upgradation of business class seats and entertainment system in years 2014-16,” the official said. “The seats were never replaced and the system never installed.”
The case has been registered under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 109 (punishment for abetment) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
According to official documents, the FIA initiated an inquiry into PIA’s state of affairs under the directions of the Supreme Court, which had ordered a special audit of the airline in 2018.
The documents pointed out that the PIA Board of Directors in its 351st meeting in 2013 had approved upgrading business class seats and inflight entertainment system, changing cabin ambiance including carpets, seats, covers, curtains, side trim, toilets, gallery, business class utility pack/gift items, etc.
According to the documents, the then PIA chairman, Nasser Jaffer, approved a firm – Sogema – for changing seats of the entire fleet of Boeing 777 “dishonestly and illegally with ill motives by abusing his official position”.
The national carrier’s Board of Customer Services Committee did not recommend the firm, Sogema, and it was also not the lowest bidder, the documents revealed. The FIA said Irfan Elahi, who was secretary Civil Aviation and became PIA chairman after Jaffer, and acting CEO, Hildenbrand, also “dishonestly” approved advance payments to Sogema
