Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) has commissioned Kroll, the global financial and risk advisory firm, to independently investigate three key fleet-related transactions between 2020 and 2021, focusing on decisions made during the airline's voluntary administration period. Independently, the airline's board has initiated an investigation into negligence that resulted in a severely damaged engine that caused significant financial losses.

In a statement, the airline said New York-based Kroll will assess the sale of five aircraft (two A340-300, two A319-100s, and one A330-200) during the airline’s voluntary administration between April 2020 and September 2021, evaluating the economic validity based on their book value and the sale terms of spare parts and equipment.

The investigation will also scrutinise the leasing of two A330-200s in 2022, examining the tender process for compliance with anti-corruption rules and fraud prevention practices, ensuring there were no conflicts of interest or fiduciary breaches.

Finally, Kroll will evaluate whether the order of three additional A350-900s from Airbus in 2023 was economically justified in terms of fleet and network development plans. The aircraft have not been delivered, but the airline already operates four of the type.

The airline said Kroll was selected following a call for proposals launched on March 6, 2025.

ch-aviation fleets history data suggests the investigations may pertain to the following aircraft:

  • sold A319s: 3B-NBF (msn 1591) scrapped at Kemble, UK, in March 2022 and 3B-NBH (msn 1936) sold to Setna iO and operated by GlobalX;
  • sold A340-300s: 3B-NBE (msn 268) and 3B-NBD (msn 194), both scrapped at Enschede, the Netherlands, in September 2021 and May 2022, respectively;
  • sold A330-200: Air Mauritius operated two until October and November 2021: 3B-NBM (msn 883) now owned by Yemenia, and 3B-NBL (msn 1057) scrapped at Marana in March 2023;
  • leased A330-200s: 3B-NCL (msn 751) and 3B-NCM (msn 807) leased from Carlyle Aviation Partners.

In a separate statement, Air Mauritius announced that the board had ordered an investigation to establish collective and individual responsibilities for damage caused to an engine identified only as ESN 41426 despite "more than 40 interventions between November 2023 and February 2024."

A technical consultant hired by the airline blamed the damage on negligence, resulting in a USD8.45 million fine for the airline. The current probe is to identify all those involved at the individual, departmental, and managerial levels.

A preliminary inquiry found repeated error warnings since November 2023 and poor maintenance management. This prompted broader inquiries into staff actions and protocols, with the new management emphasising strict accountability for negligence.

A spokesman for the airline informed ch-aviation that the engine negligence case was being investigated by former Air Mauritius Executive VP Technical Services Ashok Keerodhur.