Garuda CEO will be sacked over smuggled Harley Davidson motorcycle, says Indonesian minister

JAKARTA: The CEO of Indonesia's national airline Garuda will be sacked for allegedly smuggling a Harley Davidson motorcycle into the country and using a subordinate's name on import papers to avoid detection, a minister said on Thursday (Dec 5).

State-owned enterprises minister Erick Thohir said the airline's chief Ari Ashkara allegedly brought over parts of the disassembled motorbike on a plane from France last month.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Ashkara is accused of hiding the parts in containers with a claim tag in the name of one of his deputies, Thohir said.

The alleged smuggling was meant to avoid declaring the 800 million rupiah (US$57,000) motorbike to customs, he added.

"As minister of state-owned enterprises, I will fire Garuda's CEO," Thohir, a former owner of Italian football club Inter Milan, told reporters in Jakarta Thursday.

He did not say when Askhara would be dismissed but that the ministry would investigate whether other Garuda personnel were involved.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Two high-end bicycles, which Thohir said were not declared to customs and were also found on the jet, were displayed alongside the motorbike at the news conference.

Garuda did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But previously the state carrier had said that the motorbike pRead More – Source