Proxy advisory firm InGovern Research Services has written to the finance ministry and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) raising concerns of breach of trust against e-commerce majors Flipkart and Amazon.
Further, InGovern also recommended initiating a fresh investigation into this anti-trust issue and taking “appropriate measures” to address any aberrations at the CCI.
InGovern has raised concerns around the hiring of a former CCI member – Anku Sharma – by Flipkart in March 2023. Sharma, a former key member of the CCI team responsible for investigating Flipkart, joined Flipkart-Walmart as an antitrust subject matter expert in March 2023.
His transition raises substantial doubts about the impartiality of CCI’s investigations, posing a potential threat to its integrity, it said.
“There is a high probability that the investigation by CCI may have been compromised during the period Sharma was part of the investigation team at the CCI. The entire chain of events is highly suspicious, something that casts a cloud of doubt over the impartiality of the investigation, and therefore, the entire findings of the CCI during Sharma’s tenure should be deemed compromised,” it said in a statement.
“The integrity of the ongoing CCI investigations into e-commerce giants Flipkart-Walmart and Amazon has been in question. The CCI had been actively investigating e-commerce players since 2020, focusing on allegations of market monopolisation and anti-competitive practices, including preferential treatment for specific sellers and abuse of dominant market positions,” it said in a statement.
The firm is anticipating follow-up actions from the CCI in response to its communication and remains steadfast in its mission to advocate for corporate governance and transparency, it said.
The CCI has been investigating both Flipkart-Walmart and Amazon since 2020, probing allegations of market monopolisation and anti-competitive practices, which include preferential treatment for select sellers, and abuse of dominant market position among others.