Future Retail Denies Amazon's Allegations of Promoting 'Fraudulent Ploy'

Future Retail Limited (FRL) on Thursday said it denies all media allegations made by Amazon about the company, where the US e-commerce giant accused independent administrators of FRL facilitating a 'fraudulent scheme' to transfer 835 stores to the Reliance group.

The FRL further pointed out that the company made the necessary disclosures regarding the termination of the lease on February 25, 2022, and on March 16, providing an update on the matter.

Earlier on May 19, Amazon had written a letter to independent FRL directors. The company accused the independent directors of Future Retail Limited (FRL) of facilitating a 'fraudulent scheme' to transfer 835 stores to Reliance Group, alleging that the transfer resulted in non-payment of large amounts of unpaid rent calling it a "sham" as the retailer had only Rs 250 crore unpaid rent from such a move a month back.

The issue between Amazon and Future dates back to August 2019, when Amazon acquired 49% of FCPL (Future Coupons Pvt Ltd), the sponsoring organization of FRL, for around Rs 1,500 crore. A year later, in August 2020, Future Group entered into a $3.4 billion asset sale agreement with RIL.