The giant ecommerce platform, Amazon Inc, initiated the investigation of its legal representatives in India, soon the allegations of corruption came into light. A whistleblower complained that certain monies paid by Amazon in legal fees have been channelled into brides by its legal representatives. Without confirmation or denying the allegation, Amazon mentioned that it has “Zero tolerance for Corruption”.
As per the reports, Amazon has placed Rahul Sundaram, a Senior Corporate Counsel, on leave. It is the biggest challenge for Amazon while it is in fierce competition with Walmart owned Flipkart, Reliance’s Jio Mart, and Tata Group. Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jessy has pledged to put more achievements and they have committed to over $6.5 billion to the Indian Market.
Amazon is also involved in the ongoing antitrust investigation in India. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has written to the Union Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, requesting a CBI enquiry into the allegation. They also mentioned that they will approach Gary Gensler, US Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, demanding fair and independent investigation.
Amazon is already under the investigation of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), regarding anti-competitive practices adopted by Amazon and Flipkart. Few trader bodies believe that Amazon and Flipkart pose threat to the local bodies. They have alleged preferential treatment with the selected sellers.
CAIT National President B.C Bhatia, and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal, said that investigation is needed as it a matter of credibility of the Government. They also mentioned that it is required to inquire whether the alleged bribery is connected to the ongoing investigation in any way or is related to continuous violation of rules and laws by Amazon. Trade union demanded these steps to safeguard the Indian e-commerce market and retail trade from the abuse of dominance and connivance.
K. Narasimhan, Advocate in Madras High Court, said that the recent targeting of Amazon is unsurprising for all the good things it has done for Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). He quoted that considering the compliance standards that Amazon has, the case will be resolved soon.
Pavankumar Baboori is an experienced Sr. Content Analyst who improves the workflow by identifying and resolving the content development gap. He works closely with the marketing team to deploy strategies for improving brand awareness, website traffic, search engine ranking, and lead generation activities. He gauges up marketing channels for the real digital transformations.
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