Amazon urges India antitrust body to revoke Reliance-Future deal
Author : Pankaj Singh | Published Date : 2021-11-30
American tech giant Amazon.com Inc. has reportedly approached India’s antitrust regulator CCI (Competition Commission of India) seeking withdrawal of its approval for Future Retail Ltd.’s (FRL) USD 3.4 billion sales of retail assets to Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL).
The e-commerce giant pointed out that the deal was obtained without proper legal conduct, arguing in a letter to CCI that the deal's approval was a ‘nullity in the eyes of law’ as an arbitrator's order was still in effect.
In its defense, FRL said in a statement to the stock exchanges that it expects CCI would not be alarmed by Amazon's arrogance and that it will act against Amazon as per the law.
The RIL-FRL agreement was signed in August 2020, but Amazon contested it in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. The U.S.-based firm won a ruling against the deal from a Singapore court the previous year, alleging Future dishonored contracts which barred it from transferring the assets to companies such as Reliance.
RIL has extended the deal's long stop date to March 31, 2022, due to the continuing arbitrations, sources cited.
Amazon's letter to the CCI came only days after the company claimed that members of FRL's audit committee had ordered a forensic investigation to investigate alleged funds diversion through undisclosed related-party transactions.
It is to be noted that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued summons to the managements of both Amazon India and Future Group earlier this week for alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Amazon requested a personal hearing with the CCI to present its case. The company is charged with providing misleading information to get antitrust approval for a 2019 acquisition deal with Future Group.
Amazon India said in an email that they received the summons issued by the ED in connection with the Future Group, and will respond within the given time frame.
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About Author
Pankaj Singh . .
Endowed with a post graduate degree in management and finance, Pankaj Singh has been a part of the online content domain for quite a while. Having worked previously as a U.K. insurance underwriter for two years, he now writes articles for fractovia.org and other online portals. He can be contacted at- [email protected] | https://twitter.com/PankajSingh2605
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