JAKARTA - SOE Minister Erick Thohir has dismissed PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (GIAA) CEO Ari Askhara after the discovery of his involvement in the smuggling of luxurious goods on board a new Airbus A330-900 aircraft operated by the flag carrier.
On November 17, 2019, Indonesian Customs found 18 boxes containing a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Shovelhead motorcycle and two Brompton folding bikes on board an A330-900 newly flown in by Garuda from Toulouse, France. The Audit Committee formed to investigate the case has declared that Mr Askhara is the owner of the smuggled motorcycle.
“Therefore, the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises will dismiss the CEO of Garuda… And we will continue to monitor other individuals involved,” said Mr Thohir at a press conference at the Ministry of Finance on Thursday (5/12), adding that the Ministry of SOEs will appoint an acting CEO in Mr Askhara’s place temporarily.
According to Mr Thohir, Mr Askhara smuggled the motorcycle systematically. In 2018, he instructed an individual to search for the rare motorcycle, which was eventually purchased with payment made to the personal bank account of Garuda’s Finance Manager in Amsterdam, Netherlands known as IJ.
“This is very pathetic considering this is a thorough process happening inside a state-owned enterprise and not done individually. I am very saddened because we are trying to improve the image and performance of SOEs, but there are people who are not ready for that and now this is happening,” said Mr Thohir.
Previously Garuda Corporate Secretary Ikhsan Rosan had claimed that the smuggled goods were owned by Garuda employees on board the ferry flight and not members of the airline’s board of directors. However, the Audit Committee’s investigation has found that the smuggled Harley-Davidson is owned by Mr Askhara. (MS)