Multinational retail giant Walmart violated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Foreign Exchange Maintenance Act (Fema) regulations in 2010, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Friday.

In a letter to Rajya Sabha member M P Achuthan, CBI Superintendent of Police V N Verma stated that a scrutiny of Walmart's investments in Bharti Group's retail business through the foreign direct investment (FDI) route violated the regulations.

It may be noted here that the Indian government opened the retail sector to foreign investors in September 2012, more than two years after Walmart made the investment.

When contacted, Rajya Sabha member Achuthan said, "Walmart had invested $100 million in Cedar Support Service of Bharti in March 2010. This investment was diverted to retail trade. At that time, FDI in multi-brand retail trade was considered illegal."

Achuthan added that he had taken up the matter with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and would take a decision on the future course of action after getting a response from the ED.

Mr. Verma also stated in the letter that CBI could not probe the matter because the violation of Fema regulations did not fall under the agency's purview. The issue is now therefore being probed by the Vigilance Officer of the Union Commerce Ministry.

However, U. S.-based Walmart has repeatedly denied accusations of Fema violation.