The row is centred on the Gulf carrier's investment in Air Italy in 2017. Without naming any names, it referred to “recent false accusations... baseless statements and consistent inaccuracies” relating to its shareholding in Air Italy. As it happens, at least some of the criticism of Qatar Airways appears unwarranted and based on a lack of knowledge about the timeline of events. Qatar Airways announced its plans to take a 49% stake in the struggling Air Italy (then called Meridiana) in July 2016. As such, the Qatari investment in Air Italy was a matter of public record when the negotiations between the two governments were held.

Source: Forbes April 11, 2019 18:56 UTC