ED rubbishes Xiaomi's coercion allegations

In a statement, the ED said, "No complaint was filed by Manu Kumar Jain (Xiaomi Global Vice President) and Sameer BS Rao (Xiaomi Chief Financial Officer) at any point of time during the recording of statements on various occasions. "

"The last statement of the officials of the company was recorded on April 24, 2022 and the seizure order was passed on April 29, 2022. It appears that the allegation now made after the passage of substantial time is an afterthought," it added.

"The allegations are baseless and far from the facts," the agency said.

The officials of the Xiaomi India deposed their statements before ED under FEMA voluntarily in the most conducive environment on various occasions, it stated.

"The statements were deposed by them on the basis of documents/information provided by the company during the course of investigation. Their statements corroborate with the written replies submitted to ED and the materials on record," ED said.

The statements of Manu Kumar Jain were recorded on April 13, 21, and 26 this year.

Sameer BS Rao's statements were recorded on March 25, April 14, April 19, April 21, April 22, and April 26 this year as well, ED clarified.

It also reiterated that it is a professional agency with strong work ethics and there was no coercion or threat to the officers of the company at any point in time.

The Karnataka High Court earlier this week had stayed the ED order.