Garuda chief dismissed for alleged smuggling onboard new A330neo

Indonesia has called for the dismissal of national airline Garuda Indonesia’s CE for allegedly smuggling items on an Airbus A330-900 fresh off the production line. The minister for state-owned enterprises Erick Thohir Thursday ordered the dismissal of Garuda Indonesia's CE Ari Askhara, over an alleged attempt to smuggle a motorcycle into the country via the delivery of its first Airbus A330-900 in November. Thohir did not spell out Askhara's name but specified that the individual was the chief executive of Garuda, initials "AA". He explains that he received a letter from its board of commissioners, as well as a report from Garuda's audit committee, whose report indicated that there was "additional testimony" to support claims that the motorcycle belongs to "AA." "The [financial] transfer process was made in Jakarta to the personal [bank] account of Garuda's finance manager in Amsterdam. Mr "IJ" had assisted in the shipping and its processes, and in other [matters] too." Thohir did not specify who "IJ" was or what his role was in the carrier. He indicates that there will be further investigations, and the smuggling attempt is likely to lead to a civil and criminal case, as it "caused losses to the country."<br/>