The Enforcement Directorate has issued show cause notices to Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, its officials and three banks under the Foreign Exchange Management Act for alleged foreign exchange violation of more than ₹5,551 crore.
Background
Last year, the ED had seized ₹5,551.27 crore belonging to the ‘wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based Xiaomi group’ under provisions of FEMA.
It said the money was in bank accounts belonging to the company.
The money was seized in connection with alleged ‘illegal outward remittances’ in February.
The individuals
The show cause notices have been issued to Manu Kumar Jain, former MD, and Sameer B Rao, director and chief financial officer.
The banks
Notices have also been sent to CITI bank, HSBC Bank and Deutsche bank AG for violation of Section 10(4) and 10(5) of FEMA.
The cause
The show causes have been issued for violation of Section 10(4) and 10(5) of FEMA by allowing foreign remittances in the guise of royalty abroad without conducting due diligence and obtaining any underlying Technical Collaboration Agreement from the company.
Under the FEMA, a showcause notice is issued after the completion of the ED investigation and once it is settled, an accused is required to pay penalty.
The ED statement
“The authority while confirming the seizure held that ED is right in holding that foreign exchange equivalent to ₹5,551.27 crore has been transferred out of India by Xiaomi India in an unauthorised manner and is held outside India on behalf of the group entity in contravention of section 4 of FEMA, 1999 and the same is liable to be seized in terms of provisions of Section 37A of the FEMA,” it said.
