ECL-listed former PIA CEO flies out

German national was facing charges of corruption amounting to billions of rupees

ISLAMABAD: A top official of the national flag carrier, who was facing serious allegations of corruption, was given a special exemption to fly abroad for a month even though his name is still on the Exit Control List (ECL).

The suspended CEO of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Bernd Hildenbrand, left the country as soon as he was allowed to fly under rules best known to the Interior Ministry, sources told The Express Tribune.

On Saturday, Hildenbrand -- allowed to travel by way of a memorandum issued by the Ministry of Interior on May 4 -- boarded a flight of Turkish Airlines for Frankfurt, Germany via Istanbul, said the sources.

Hildenbrand was under investigation on charges of corruption amounting to billions of rupees and was facing forced leave from his position. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is probing the corruption charges against him.



A copy of the memorandum, obtained by The Express Tribune, reads: “It has been decided to allow one-time permission to Mr Bernd Eugen Hildenbrand Deutsch National holder of Passport No C8W917M2F, to travel abroad for a period of 30 days from the date of departure.”

Ministry officials said even though Hildenbrand was granted permission to go abroad for a month “under relevant rules and regulations”, it is yet to be established whether or not he would come back to Pakistan to face investigation. It is also learnt that the German national gave assurances to relevant authorities about his return.

According to the sources, he was allowed to go abroad due to diplomatic pressure.

Bernd Hildenbrand was initially appointed as PIA’s chief operating officer, but was later given the charge of acting chief executive officer. On April 22, Hildenbrand was relieved of his duties as CEO, and Chief Financial Officer Nayyar Hayat was appointed in his place.



On March 16, Hildenbrand’s was barred from travelling abroad after his name was put on the ECL. The same day, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said Hildenbrand was being investigated on charges of corruption.

“PIA had acquired a plane from Sri Lankan Airlines for $8,000 per hour, while another airline had acquired a similar plane for $4,000 per hour,” the minister had said.

Amid this and so many other issues linked to Hildenbrand, PIA had recently invited applications for a new CEO and chief operating commercial officer/director marketing.

The German national was first barred to travel in December 2016 and was asked to stay on in the country over the issue of selling an air-worthy aircraft (A-310) of the airlines to a German museum at throwaway price.