India’s financial crime agency has issued notices to Xiaomi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and Citigroup regarding alleged illegal remittances made by the Chinese smartphone maker to foreign entities. The notices were issued by an appellate authority at the Enforcement Directorate under India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The agency claims that Xiaomi’s local unit made illegal remittances by disguising them as royalty payments. The funds involved amount to 55.51 billion rupees ($673.2 million), which have been frozen by the agency since last year. Xiaomi has previously defended the legitimacy of the payments, saying that it will “continue to use all means to protect its reputation and interests.” The banks received notices for allegedly facilitating these remittances without proper due diligence and documentation, according to India’s financial crime agency. [Reuters]