Amazon India charges Rs 7,000 cr diverted from Future Retail (FRL)
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26 November 2021, Mumbai:
Amazon Inc., which is trying to block India’s richest man from taking over a struggling retail chain, fired a fresh salvo by alleging that money from the local firm was possibly diverted to other companies.
Future Retail Ltd. transferred Rs 7,000 crore ($939 million) in the year ended March 2020 as a capital advance to a company controlled by its founder Kishore Biyani and as payment for goods and services purchased from the related firm, Amazon said in a letter seen by Bloomberg News. Future Retail also created unusual rental security deposits and made advances to suppliers worth a total of Rs 4,300 crore the same year, even as business slumped and it was shutting stores, Amazon said.
The transactions were part of the public disclosures made by the company as part of standard governance practices, Future Retail’s representative said by email, adding that “there is nothing new that is being brought to the notice, except for false speculations being created out of selective excerpts.” A representative for Amazon India declined to comment.
“Significant amounts may have been diverted from Future Retail,” Amazon said. By unwinding at least part of these transactions, Future Retail can “immediately partially repay the outstanding debt owed to banks and creditors to ensure business continuity and survival,” it added.
