Amazon is suing India’s financial crime agency for an attempt to quash an investigation into one of its 2019 deals, according to a court filing seen by Reuters.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been investigating Amazon’s $200 million (about Rs. 1,510 crore) investment in India’s Future Group for months for suspected violations of foreign investment laws.
The investment is at the center of a protracted legal battle as Amazon has used the terms of that deal – and cited contract violations by Future – to overturn the sale of the Indian company’s $3.4 billion (approximately Rs. 25,640) retail assets. crore) to delay a rival. .
In an 816-page file, seen by Reuters, Amazon calls the investigation a “fishing and roving” investigation, saying the ED had sought privileged legal advice and opinions from Amazon and other information unrelated to the Future Group— deal.
Multiple Amazon executives, including the head of India, had been subpoenaed by the ED in recent weeks and the investigation had caused “unnecessary harassment,” the US e-commerce giant said in its filing to the Delhi High Court on Dec. 21.
“The ED’s directions requesting disclosure of legally privileged documents and information about the privilege of lawsuits violate the principles set forth in the Indian Constitution, Amazon said in the filing, which is not public.
“The survey is a fishing and roving exercise.”
Amazon and the ED, which are not disclosing the details of their investigations, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case is likely to be heard on Thursday.
The filing is the latest twist in the long-running dispute between Amazon and Future. Although India’s antitrust body last week suspended their 2019 deal and said Amazon had withheld information from seeking approvals, the ED’s investigation is separate from that.
The dispute revolves around three commercial agreements signed between Futures and Amazon entities, which, according to a Singapore arbitration panel — which also hears the dispute — should be read together when reviewing the transaction.
Future claims that merging the commercial agreements would, in fact, mean the deal violates Indian law.
Amazon’s court filing contained a Feb. 19 notice from the ED requesting details of its investment in Future, including copies of agreements, bank account details and other related internal communications.
It also showed that the ED is conducting a much broader investigation and had sought details about major suppliers on Amazon’s e-commerce website in India, including sales figures for those that account for more than 5 percent of total sales on Amazon.in.
The news came in the wake of a February investigation by Reuters, which found that Amazon helped a small number of sellers thrive on its Indian platform by discounting fees and using it to circumvent foreign investment laws.
Amazon said at the time that it was confident it was compliant and that it “does not give preferential treatment to any seller in its marketplace.”
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