AirAsia shares plunge after Airbus bribery allegations

Shares of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group and unit AirAsia X fell on Monday, after allegations by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office that Airbus paid a bribe of $50m to win plane orders from Asia’s largest budget airline group. AirAsia shares fell as much as 11% to 1.27 ringgit - their lowest since May 2016 - while those of AirAsia X tanked 12% to their all-time low of 11.5 Malaysian sen. Malaysia’s anti-graft agency is investigating the allegations from Britain. AirAsia has said it never made any purchase decisions that were premised on Airbus sponsorship, and that it would fully cooperate with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. Malaysia’s Securities Commission said on Sunday it would also examine whether AirAsia broke securities laws. The allegations were revealed on Friday as part of a record $4b settlement Airbus agreed with France, Britain and the US. Prosecutors said the company had bribed public officials and hidden payments as part of a pattern of worldwide corruption. Analysts said the accusation against AirAsia comes at a particularly bad time as airlines grapple with a slowdown in business because of the fast-spreading coronavirus epidemic.<br/>