NEW DELHI An Indian appellate authority has imposed a seizure order against Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp that froze $682 million in an investigation related to illegal payments to foreign entities, authorities said on Friday.
The Enforcement Directorate said the decision was the highest amount of seizure order in India, which was confirmed by the agency. Xiaomi did not respond to a request for comment on the decision by the Competent Authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
In April, the crime agency seized the money, saying that Xiaomi had illegally transferred funds abroad to three entities, including one in the Xiaomi group, as payments in the guise of royalty. Xiaomi had denied any wrongdoing and challenged the decision in an Indian court, which had asked an appellate authority to review the matter.