Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 13: The Enforcement Directorate has asked Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi’s former India managing director, to appear before it in an inquiry into the company’s compliance with Indian foreign exchange laws. Jain has been summoned to appear before the investigators at the company’s Delhi headquarters by 11 a.m. today.
He was reportedly summoned by the ED earlier this year, requesting that he join the inquiry against the Chinese firm.
According to Press Trust of India, the agency launched an investigation into the Chinese firm in February this year based on some specific inputs, and Manu Jain, the former India head of Xiaomi Corp, has been asked to share details about the investigation into whether the company’s business practises complied with Indian foreign exchange laws.
Jain, who is currently the global vice president of Xiaomi and is located in Dubai, was in India, according to reports, however the reason of his visit was unclear.
The ED’s measures show that it is intensifying its investigation into the Chinese smartphone maker, whose India office was raided in December last year as part of a separate inquiry into potential tax cheating. At the time, other Chinese smartphone manufacturers were also raided.
According to the Press Trust of India, the Enforcement Directorate is looking into the existing business structures between Xiaomi India, its contract manufacturers, and its Chinese parent company, as well as other matters such as cash flows between Xiaomi India and its parent company.
Notably Xiaomi, a Chinese company, is one of India’s largest smartphone sellers, reportedly leading the market in 2021, followed by Samsung Electronics of South Korea. Other digital gadgets, including as smartwatches and televisions, are also sold by Xiaomi in India.
