Amazon All Set To File Criminal Case Against Big Bazaar, Future Group? Store Transfers To Reliance Is The Reason?

In a 2-year long legal tussle between the American e-commerce giant Amazon and the Indian retail company Future Retail, Amazon.com now plans on filing criminal charges on the Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail this week, for disrupting the terms of a 2019 deal and transferring its assets to the rival Indian giant Reliance Industries.

Since 2020, the e-comm giant has managed to prohibit the asset sale of Future Retail to rival company Reliance, on grounds of violating certain contracts.

However, now Amazon.com is preparing to file criminal charges against Future, which sources believe could very well be the last attempt by Amazon to stop the Future-Reliance deal.

Amazon and Future Duel

In 2020, the US-based e-comm giant Amazon filed charges against Biyani-led Future Retail for violating certain contracts.

As a result, Future’s sale of assets worth $3.4 billion to Amazon’s major retail competitor RIL was paused and has been stalled even till date.

India’s second largest retailer, after Reliance Retail, does not agree to any charges filed by Amazon and had previously stated that Amazon was incorrectly interfering in its retail business.

However, Amazon’s position is backed by Indian courts and a Singapore arbitrator.

Now, Amazon plans to file criminal proceedings against Future in a New Delhi court, and would urge the court to investigate the matter closely.

Two sources privy to the matter informed that this criminal filing in the Delhi court could happen as early as this week, stated a Reuters report.

Amazon will allege that Future concealed information during legal proceedings and allegedly transferred leases of its stores to rival Reliance, even though a Singapore arbitrator had halted any transfer or disposal of assets in the ongoing dispute, added one of the sources.

Last week, Reliance had begun taking over 500 stores of Future Retail and rebranded them as its own retail outlet, Reliance Retail, as Future failed to make rental payments.

However, RIL did not lay off Future Retail’s employees.