SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The Enforcement Directorate is investigating whether Amazon.com Inc may have circumvented restrictions placed on foreign investors by selling directly to domestic consumers, the Wall Street Journal on Friday cited unidentified sources as saying.
The finance ministry's Enforcement Directorate is looking into whether Amazon's Indian subsidiary may have sold directly to customers but made it look as if the sales were made by other companies, the Journal cited two people familiar with the matter as saying.
India doesn't allow foreign firms to own majority stakes in retail companies that sell more than one brand. Amazon is allowed there because it acts as a marketplace rather than a retailer, according to the Journal. Amazon was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)