ED summons Amazon India head operations over Future Group Deal irregularities

Amazon India operations head Amit Agarwal has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) next week over alleged violation of foreign investment rules in a deal with the Future Group.

The ED has also summoned Future Group officials for verification of the evidence and documents it has collected so far. The federal probe agency is examining if Amazon was in violation of India's law on foreign exchange, or the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management) Act, when it pumped in Rs 1,431 crore to acquire the stake in Future Coupons, and if the company complied with regulations.

The ED summons came post the Delhi High Court made certain observations on the court fight between Amazon and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).

The High Court had said that the attempts being made by Amazon to control Future Retail through a conflation of agreements it had with the unlisted entity of the Future Group will be considered as violative of FDI rules and FEMA.

Amazon and Future Group are fighting it out in courts after the Kishore Biyani-led group in August last year agreed to sell its assets to Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail for Rs 24,500 crore.

Amazon is opposing Future Group's plan to sell assets to Reliance, claiming that the deal violates its 2019 investment pact.