ED summons Xiaomi global vice-president Manu Kumar Jain in forex case

Chinese mobile phone maker Xiaomi has come under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) scanner. The federal agency has summoned its global vice-president Manu Kumar Jain in connection with alleged foreign remittances of Rs 1,000 crore, which according to the agency is not compliant with the foreign exchange rules.

“This is the third summons issued to him (Jain), after he failed to appear on the earlier summons,” a senior official said. He has been asked to appear before the agency’s Bengaluru office on Wednesday, the official said without giving details.

According to sources, Jain had been Xiaomi’s former managing director of its India operations and that’s why he could be aware of company activities and the significant amount which is being transferred outside India.

It’s learnt that ED had initiated its discreet inquiry in February under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and found evidence of remittances involving a significant amount.

When contacted, a Xiaomi spokesperson said: “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,” it added.

Sources said Jain has been asked to provide details on Xiaomi’s various shareholding, funding, and financial statements, besides necessary approval details.

Chinese phone makers and their subsidiaries have been under the lens of Indian probe agencies. In December-January, the I-T department conducted searches at several offices of these firms in multiple cities. The department had said these firms sent money in the form of royalty quoting themselves and group companies located abroad, which is in thousands of crores.