The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) intends to re-audit the air operator certificate (AOC) renewal checklist of the now insolvent MYAirline (MYM, Kuala Lumpur Subang), according to a New Straits Times report. This comes as the Royal Malaysian Police ramp up their investigations into MYAirline's funding sources.
Citing CAAM CEO Norazman Mahmud, the report says the audit will focus on specific technical areas, including MYAirline's Continuing Airworthiness Maintenance Organisation (CAMO) and Approved Maintenance Organisation (AMO) status. MYAirline abruptly suspended all flights on October 11, 2023, eleven days after CAAM approved a two-year extension of its AOC. Norazman says that they granted the extension based on an audit conducted in May. He said the regulator found no warning signs the airline was in trouble.
CAAM suspended MYAirline's AOC on October 16 for 90 days, which gives the agency time to investigate and audit the airline. Following the cessation of flights, MYAirline has publicly acknowledged its "communication shortcomings" with the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) and CAAM. The airline says it has implemented a service recovery and business continuity plan and is "actively exploring strategic partnerships" for recapitalisation and relaunch.
Meanwhile, MYAirline founder and shareholder Allan Goh Hwan Hua continues to be in the spotlight of police investigations. Director of the Royal Malaysian Police's Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, has told Malaysian media outlets that the CCID are investigating two years worth of transactions at an entity called i-Serve Online Mall Sdn Bhd (ISOM), in which the MYAirline founder is a major shareholder. That entity has already been the subject of police raids and money laundering investigations, and the CCID wants to establish if there is a paper trail linking ISOM with MYAirline.
Ramli told a press conference that the CCID was looking to see whether ISOM's used its networks to launder money to fund MYAirline and the potential misuse investor funds. "It’s not just money laundering," he said. "We are also looking at other crimes such as abusing funds from investors. We are looking at the crimes and offences that could have been committed in the span of two years or more of its operations. It will take time, but investigators are hard at work, poring through transactions involving several companies, including i-Serve and MYAirline." ch-aviation does not say these allegations are true, only that they have been made.
Goh recently spent five days in police custody, assisting with inquiries before being released without charge. His wife and adult son also spent three days in custody. Recently, the CCID also arrested an unnamed associate of Goh's who is now assisting police with their enquiries. Police have frozen bank accounts containing approximately MYR5 million ringgits (USD1 million) connected with that individual and seized documents, laptops, assorted watches, cars, jewellery, and handbags. Ramli does not rule out more arrests as the investigation proceeds.
