Qatar Tribune

India seizes $725 mn from Xiaomi over remittance­s

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INDIAN authoritie­s on Saturday seized $725 million from Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi, accusing it of breaking the country’s foreign exchange laws by making illegal remittance­s abroad, officials said.

The Enforcemen­t Directorat­e, India’s financial investigat­ion agency, tweeted that it had seized the amount from Xiaomi’s local unit. The move comes after an investigat­ion was launched by the federal agency in February over concerns of illegal remittance­s, local media reported.

The agency said the smartphone maker had transferre­d $725 million to “three foreign based entities” under the guise of royalty payments, according to a statement quoted by the Press Trust of India. Earlier this month, the agency had also questioned Xiaomi’s global vice president, Manu Kumar Jain, at the company’s regional office in the southern city of Bengaluru, PTI reported.

The smartphone company said it complied with local laws and added that its “royalty payments and statements” were “legit and truthful.” It said it is committed to working closely with the government to clarify any misunderst­andings.

“These royalty payments that Xiaomi India made were for in-licensed technologi­es and IPs used in our Indian version products. It is a legitimate commercial arrangemen­t for Xiaomi India to make such royalty payments,” the statement said.

Two years ago, India banned over 100 Chineseown­ed apps as tensions between the countries soared over border clashes. In June 2020, Indian and Chinese troops fought with clubs, stones and fists along a disputed section of their border, leaving 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

 ?? ?? Indian authoritie­s on Saturday seized $725 million from Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi,
Indian authoritie­s on Saturday seized $725 million from Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi,

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