Future Retail Introduces New Evidence for Amazon Legal Battle

According to a new report by BusinessToday.In, Indian-based Future Retail submitted new evidence to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for an ongoing legal battle with e-commerce giant, Amazon.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, the two companies signed a deal in 2019 for Amazon to invest $200 million into Future Coupons, a separate entity owned by Future Retail focusing on payment products for corporations and consumers. Amazon officials originally claimed the company was interested in investing in Future Coupons due to its "unique business model and strong growth potential". However, the deal went sour after Future Retail made claims Amazon’s intentions for investing were dishonest.

To support this accusation, Future Retail representatives have provided new documents to demonstrate contradictory information from Amazon on this matter. Internal emails from Amazon executives in India show the company was engaging in a "'twin-entity investment structure” to circumvent national business laws. With this evidence, Future Retail hopes the CCI will prevent this deal from moving forward.

Future's independent directors stated in a formal letter to the agency, "The CCI has to revoke the approval granted for Amazon's investment," 

While it is too early to tell if the evidence is enough for the CCI to cancel the agreement, Amazon’s hyper competitive nature and legal resources may cause hassles for progress.