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May 24, 2001
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Money > Business Headlines > Report May 24, 2001 |
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'Mascrenhas suspended due to power play in Air-India'Shyam Bhatia
The head of the London travel agency named in connection with the suspension of Air-India's managing director Michael Mascrenhas, says his company is the victim of 'power play' within the airline. Om Gulathi is the head of Welcome Travels (Air-India's general sales agents), the agency which is said to have been given 'undue benefits' while Mascrenhas served as Air-India's managing director. In an interview with India Abroad, Gulathi stated that he is innocent. He underscored that he has never been accused of any irregularities. He also said that he had not been invited to make any submission to the Air-India board. Gulathi said his company processed 100,000 Air-India tickets every year and generated some 20 million pounds in annual revenue. Welcome, he said, has never been accused of corruption. "We have been Air-India's GSA for the last 14 years. Last year A-I made us its consolidator. We still do 80 per cent of its business out of London. "When you accuse someone of indulging in irregularities, it is necessary that you send them a letter mentioning the charges. We have not been sent any letter, nor has Air-India asked us for any submission or explanation," Gulathi said. "They never asked aything. There has been no communication at all. Every year, you audit the accounts. It is not as if they pay us whatever we demand -- like we ask for one million and they give us one million. No. Every ticket we sell is checked by government auditors and payment made only thereafter," he added. "Sometimes there are some differences - of maybe a few hundred here or there -- in ticket sales. We sell about 100,000 tickets a year and it is only then that they pay us. It takes five or six months for the money to come in," Gulathi claimed. "You can fiddle around and juggle with the accounts for a year or two, but to do that for 14 years is just not possible." Asked about his links with Mascrenhas, Gulathi replied, "I can swear that Mascrenhas does not take money from anyone. Whatever is happening now in Air-India is a fight between people at the top and we are the victims." YOU MAY ALSO WANT TO SEE:
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