K'taka HC upholds seizure of Rs.5,551 crore from Xiaomi for FEMA violation
Bengaluru, Apr 21: The High Court of Karnataka on Friday upheld the seizure of Rs 5,551.27 crore from Xiaomi India for violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had seized the amount from the company's account and this was upheld by the Competent Authority. Xiaomi had challenged the Competent Authority's order in the HC.
On Friday, Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed the petition holding that it was valid under Section 37 A of FEMA. However, liberty was granted to Xiaomi to approach the Appellate Tribunal and challenge the Competent Authority's order under Section 37A(5).
The ED had in 2022 ordered the seizure of Rs.5,551.27 crore in the accounts of Xiaomi for allegedly violating FEMA rules and transferring money in the guise of royalty to three companies outside India; two in the USA and one in China.
The company had approached the HC against this order. The HC had however ordered it to approach the Competent Authority under FEMA. The Competent Authority had upheld the seizure.
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Xiaomi had approached the HC again challenging the Competent Authority's order. After hearing the arguments, Justice M Nagaprasanna had reserved the judgement on November 17, 2022.
Xiaomi had challenged the Constitutional validity of Section 37A of FEMA, which authorises the Authorised Officer prescribed by the central government to order seizure of property held outside India for violating Section 4 of the Act. The Court in its judgment has said that Xiamoi's challenge to the Section is maintainable, but since there was no arbitrariness in the Section 37A, it was "Constitutional".
The ED had given the seizure order to freeze the amount from the bank accounts of Xiaomi on April 29, 2022.
The Competent Authority confirmed the order on September 29, 2022. Xiaomi filed the petition on October 3, 2022 challenging it.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
