Amazon accuses Future Retail of insider trading as it seeks to block Reliance deal

Amazon.com Inc has asked India’s market regulator to investigate Future Retail Ltd for insider trading, a letter seen by Reuters showed, as it seeks to prevent its business partner from becoming part of rival Reliance’s empire.
The U.S. giant has been pressing the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to review Reliance’s August deal to buy retail, logistics and other assets from Future Group for $3.4 billion including debt.
Amazon argues it had a 2019 agreement with Future which prevented the Indian group’s retail assets from being sold to certain parties including Reliance Industries Ltd, which is led by Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani.
The Nov. 8 letter to SEBI alleges Future Retail disclosed to Reliance price sensitive details of an injunction granted by a Singapore arbitrator to block the deal.
After the Reuters story was published, a spokesman for Future said the company had communicated with Reliance on the arbitration order for a “legitimate purpose” as required by SEBI regulations. It added that Amazon had provided no evidence to back up its allegations of insider trading.