Karnataka HC extends stay on ED order freezing Xiaomi India assets
Bengaluru, May 23: The Karnataka High Court on Monday extended the stay on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) order of freezing Rs 5,551 crore in the bank accounts of Xiaomi India.
Justice S G Pandit extended the stay till June 1, with the hearing of the case posted to that day.
The ED froze Xiaomi's accounts on April 29 alleging that it has violated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by illegally transferring money abroad to three companies under the guise of royalty payments.
In an interim order on May 5, a vacation bench of the High Court stayed this order.
"Operation of the order is stayed subject to the condition that petitioners will operate the bank accounts which are seized only for the purpose of meeting the expenses for carrying out the day-to-day activities of the company," the HC said in its interim order on May 5.
Subsequently on May 12, the HC modified its interim order and allowed the company to draw overdraft from the banks to meet these expenses. However, on both the occasions, the company was expressly barred from using the money to pay royalty to companies outside India.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
