THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned Chinese mobile company Xiaomi’s global vice president, Manu Kumar Jain, for questioning in a ca
THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned Chinese mobile company Xiaomi’s global vice president, Manu Kumar Jain, for questioning in a case related to alleged violations of the foreign exchange law by the company.
Sources said Jain was asked to appear before the investigating officer in Bengaluru, and was being questioned.
According to sources, the case is related to some foreign remittances made by the company to China through a third country in violation of RBI guidelines. “Around three years ago, the company made remittances to the tune of over Rs 3,000 crore in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Accordingly, a case has been registered and the company is being investigated,” said an ED official.
Sources said Jain, who headed Xiaomi’s India operations until recently, has been asked to furnish a number of financial documents linked to the company. These include documents related to Xiaomi’s shareholding, source of funds, vendor contracts, and payments made to Indian management and sent abroad.
A PTI report quoted a Xiaomi spokesperson as saying that they were “a law abiding and responsible company”. “We give paramount importance to the laws of the land. We are fully compliant with all the regulations and are confident of the same. We are cooperating with authorities with their ongoing investigation to ensure they have all the requisite information,” the spokesperson said.
Last December, the Income Tax department carried out searches on the premises of Xiaomi and a few other Chinese mobile manufacturing companies for alleged tax evasion. The government has also banned some smartphone applications owned by Xiaomi on security grounds.
Xiaomi has been leading the Indian smartphone market since the last several quarters. Despite a dip in smartphone shipments in India, the company secured 22 per cent market share in the fourth quarter of 2021 and maintained its
lead.
indianexpress.com