Amazon-Future tussle: Singapore’s arbitration court rejects Biyani’s plea

Future Retail Ltd’s plea to be excluded from being a party to the Amazon-Future Coupons’ arbitration proceedings has been turned down and the Court of Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) has ordered that the arbitration shall proceed, according to sources.

In October, a single-judge bench of V K Rajah had given an interim arbitration award, barring Future Retail Ltd (FRL) from taking any step to dispose of or encumber its assets or issuing any securities to secure any funding from a restricted party.

According to the sources close to the development, FRL had approached the Court of SIAC saying the arbitration proceedings were part of a contract to which the company is not a party. The company had pleaded that it be excluded from being a party on account of jurisdiction objection.