Retail giant Amazon has plans to initiate criminal court proceedings this week against its Indian partner Future Retail for allowing the transfer of assets to a major rival despite a legal prohibition, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
For more than a year, Amazon and Future Group, which operates 1,700 retail outlets including the popular Big Bazaar brand, have been locked in a legal stand-off that has stalled Future’s $3.4 billion sale of assets to Reliance Industries, while straining the company’s finances.
Amazon has successfully halted Future’s asset sale to rival Reliance since 2020 by arguing for possible harms to competition in India’s retail market, as well as citing the terms of contracts including a 2019 deal that was recently suspended by India’s CCI,
Future, India’s second largest retailer, denies any wrongdoing,with the dispute reaching the Delhi High Court and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLT). Amazon’s position has been backed by a Singapore arbitrator and Indian courts.
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