Vietnamese authorities have detained the former CEO of Jetstar Pacific and stopped the airline's chief operating officer and chief financial officer from leaving the country while an investigation is under way into multi- million dollar fuel hedging losses.
Vietnam's "economic police" have put the former CEO of the airline, Luong Hoai Nam, under home detention with effect from last night, says Jetstar's top spokesman in Australia. Nam left the airline last November.
The spokesman says Jetstar Pacific's COO Daniela Masilli and CFO Tristan Freeman have also been questioned and are now assisting the authorities.
"They have not been detained but are not allowed to leave Vietnam," he adds.
Jetstar is the low-cost airline of Qantas Group which owns 27% of Ho Chi Minh-based Jetstar Pacific.
The Vietnamese carrier's largest shareholder is the State Capital Investment Corporation which owns just under 70%.
Vietnamese authorities are investigating Jetstar Pacific's fuel hedging losses that totalled around $31 million for the 2008 and 2009 calendar years, says the Jetstar spokesman.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
