New Delhi
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out raids on multiple sellers connected to major e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart, in a nationwide operation targeting alleged money laundering activities. The searches were conducted in several cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, covering around 24 seller locations linked to the platforms.
The ED’s investigation pertains to potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), with authorities seeking evidence of money laundering facilitated through e-commerce transactions. Both Amazon and Flipkart, however, did not immediately respond to requests for comments regarding the raids.
This development comes after previous scrutiny of Amazon and Flipkart. In September, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that both companies had violated local competition laws by favoring specific sellers on their platforms. Additionally, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is examining several complaints against e-commerce firms, particularly concerning the use of “dark patterns,” which mislead consumers into making unintended purchases.
The Indian government has recently proposed draft guidelines to curb deceptive practices, including dark patterns, and introduced provisions in the Digital India Act to protect users from such tactics.
