The Economic Times (ET) said the emails showed that the AirAsia Group CEO asked key management personnel at AirAsia India not to interfere when they had flagged issues such as payments at higher-than-market rates.

“Emails from a former AirAsia India board member, Bharat Vasani, revealed that corporate governance issues had cropped up at the airline as early as 2014 when it started flying,” said the ET report.

It said some of these related to lease rentals, maintenance reserves and outsourcing of support functions for finance, accounting and human resources.

Fernandes was issued a “notice of appearance” over the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s (FIPB) approval for AirAsia to invest in India and his alleged efforts to get the Indian government’s policy changed so that the company could start international operations there.

Under the policy, a domestic airline is allowed to fly overseas only after completing five years of domestic operations with a fleet of at least 20 aircraft.

The ET report cited people close to the matter as alleging that Fernandes wielded a controlling hand over AirAsia India’s decisions.

“At many board meetings, he had reportedly made it clear that AirAsia Berhad would make decisions on several aspects regarding AirAsia India, including its revenue management,” the report said.

“This was supposedly done in the presence of all board members,” it added.

Yesterday, it was reported that India’s agency on financial crimes, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), launched a separate probe on the likelihood of a bribe amounting to US$1 million (RM4 million) in relation to AirAsia India.

It followed the ED’s questioning of AirAsia India’s former CEO Mittu Chandilya over the matter of alleged violation of rules for the permits, the Times of India reported.

RM4 million bribe at heart of fresh Indian probe into AirAsia