Xiaomi's Manu Jain Appears Before ED in forex violations case

Manu Jain, the global VP and former India head of handset maker Xiaomi has appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law. 

Jain was questioned about the India operations of the company. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Manu Kumar Jain, the global vice president and former India head of handset maker Xiaomi has appeared before the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged contravention of the foreign exchange law. The federal probe agency is investigating the company and its executives under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) related to foreign remittances worth crores of rupees made over the last few years, said a report by news agency PTI citing sources. 

Jain, the former India head of Xiaomi, was questioned about the India operations of the company and his statement was recorded at ED's Bengaluru zonal office, they said. He was asked to furnish a number of financial documents linked to the company which, sources said, have been submitted. Documents related to Xiaomi's shareholding, source of funds, vendor contracts, and payments made to Indian management and sent abroad were sought by the ED from Jain, who supervised its operations in India till recently, officials said.

Asked about the probe, a Xiaomi spokesperson had earlier told ABP Live: "Xiaomi is 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."

This development indicates the widening scrutiny of the Chinese smartphone maker, as its India office was raided in December last year in a separate investigation too. 

Earlier in December last year, over 20 offices in the National Capital Region (NCR), Karnataka Mumbai, Rajkot of handset makers Oppo and Xiaomi were raided by the income tax department, a report in The Economic Times had said. Taxmen had also searched the offices of OnePlus, another Chinese handset maker that has been merged with sister brand Oppo, but functions as a separate firm.

The income tax raids were based on “actionable intelligence inputs” on “several violations” by the Chinese firms, a senior official was quoted as saying in the ET report.