Xiaomi Says Threats Of 'Dire Consequences' Given To 2 Top Execs During ED Probe: Report

The federal agency has said that Xiaomi India's charges were an afterthought.

The allegations that the statement of the officials of Xiaomi India was taken under coercion by ED is untrue and baseless, ED has said. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Handset maker Xiaomi has filed a writ petition filed in the Karnataka High Court alleging that two of its key executives, including former India head Manu Jain have been threatened with "dire consequences", physical violence and damage to their career prospects if they did not present statements as "dictated" by the agency. The Enforcement Directorate has, however, rejected the allegations. The federal agency has said that Xiaomi India's charges were an afterthought, the media has reported.

The Enforcement Directorate has issued a statement saying it was "a professional agency with strong work ethics and there was no coercion or threat to the officers of the company at any point of time". "The allegations that the statement of the officials of Xiaomi India was taken under coercion by ED is untrue and baseless." "The officials of Xiaomi India deposed their statements before ED under FEMA voluntarily in the most conducive environment on various occasions," the agency was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

According to a report published in Economic Times, some Xiaomi executives made involuntary statements and resisted "extreme hostile abuse and pressure" for some time before making the involuntary statements and an undertaking. The ED has called the allegations "untrue and baseless", the report added.

The Enforcement Directorate, in April, had seized funds worth over Rs 5,551 crore of Chinese mobile manufacturing company Xiaomi India have been "seized" for violating the Indian foreign exchange law. The seizure of funds has been done under relevant sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after a probe was launched by the federal agency against the company in connection with alleged "illegal remittances" sent abroad by the Chinese firm in February.

Xiaomi started its operations in India in 2014 and started remitting the money from the next year, it said, according to a PTI report.