Amazon awarded ₹23.7 crore in damages, ₹77 crore towards legal costs by Singapore arbitration body in Future Group case

Amazon has been awarded a sum of ₹23.7 crore by the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in damages linked to the tech giant's prolonged battle with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, a new report has said.

As per a report by Bar and Bench, the SIAC ruled that Future Group had breached its contractual obligations to Amazon when it entered into an agreement with Reliance, which was in violation to the terms of the pre-existing agreement.

Livemint could not independently verify the details of the sum awarded to Amazon. This article will be updated once there is a confirmation.

What is Amazon getting?

Amazon had originally sought ₹1,436 crore in damages — which is the amount it invested in Future Coupons Private Limited. However, it has only been awarded ₹23.7 crore.

The company had also sought the legal costs it incurred in the arbitration proceedings as well as cases it had fought before courts and tribunals in India.

According to sources quoted by Bar and Bench, the three-member SIAC tribunal held that the Future Group had indeed breached the contract and awarded 60 per cent of the legal costs that Amazon incurred during arbitration proceedings. It also refused to grant any costs related to the initiation or defence of allied proceedings.

As per estimates quoted by the legal publication, Amazon awarded ₹77 crore and ₹6 crore in legal costs and arbitration fees, as opposed to the ₹125 crore it spent.

The three-member tribunal comprised Prof Albert Jan van den Berg, Prof Jan Paulsson and Senior Counsel Michael Hwang.

Future Group and Amazon had been locked in a bitter battle for over a year following a decision by the Indian retailer to sell its Big Bazaar business to Reliance Retail, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

The deal was opposed by Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC on grounds that its investment of ₹1,400 crore in Future Coupons, which is one of promoters of Future Retail, does not allow Future to sell retail assets to certain companies, including Reliance. At stake was whether Amazon can become a bigger force in a $900 billion retail market, with 1.3 billion consumers, than Reliance.

The dispute arose in August 2020 when a deb-laden and loss incurring Future Group announced a ₹24,713 crore deal to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing businesses to Reliance Industries. Amazon had raised immediate objections.