What put the co-pilots on a collision course

MUMBAI: At the heart of the bitter feud between the two billionaire founders of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd are alleged lapses related to transactions entered into by India’s largest airline with entities controlled by one of the two promoters, Rahul Bhatia.

In his complaint to the markets regulator and the aviation ministry, co-founder Rakesh Gangwal did not pull any punches in terming the related-party transactions (RPTs) as contravening the company’s code of governance. In the year ended 31 March 2018, InterGlobe’s total reported RPTs were ₹332 crore, according to Mint’s analysis of company disclosures. This climbed to ₹504 crore in the following year.

“All RPTs have been executed on an arm’s length basis and in the ordinary course of business,” said Bhatia in a statement on Wednesday.