According to court documents obtained by Reuters, Amazon has sued an Indian financial crime agency to stop an investigation into one of its 2019 transactions. Amazon has been the subject of a long-standing lawsuit citing a breach of contract that stopped Future from selling its $3.4 billion retail business to an Indian company to a competitor. Amazon called the probe a “fishing and roving” investigation in an 816-page file reviewed by Reuters, claiming the ED requested confidential legal advice and views from Amazon.
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The ED had summoned many Amazon officials, including its India CEO, in recent weeks, and the inquiry had resulted in “unnecessary harassment,” the e-commerce giant claimed in a plea to the Delhi High Court on Dec. 21. “The ED’s requests for disclosure of legally protected papers and litigation privilege material are in violation of the principles” given down in the Indian constitution, according to Amazon’s submission, which is not public. Amazon and the ED did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Despite the fact that India’s antitrust regulator stopped their 2019 contract last week, alleging that Amazon withheld facts when seeking clearances, the ED’s investigation is unrelated to that. Future claims that combining the business agreements would make the merger illegal under Indian law.
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ED’s notice is contained in Amazon’s court documents requesting facts about its investment in Future, including copies of contracts, bank account information, and other relevant internal communications. The ED also said it was starting a much broader investigation seeking information on major sellers of the Indian e-commerce website Amazon.
