Indian investigators have reportedly filed a corruption case against the chief executive of regional budget airline AirAsia and some of his top deputies, saying the company paid bribes to get government approvals to launch its India operation.

The Press Trust of India news agency says Malaysia-based AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes, his deputy Bo Lingam and others were named in the complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The report says most of the bribes were paid through a "sham contract" with a Singapore-based company. The complaint did not say which Indian officials were allegedly bribed.

A senior official of AirAsia India Ltd., Shuva Mandal, says the company "refutes any wrongdoing and is cooperating with all regulators and agencies to present the correct facts."