ED Crackdown On Vivo: Chargesheet Filed Against Chinese Smartphone Maker, Others In Money Laundering Case

The Enforcement Directorate has filed its first charge sheet against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo-India and some others in relation to its money laundering case, said a PTI report quoting official sources on Thursday.

The prosecution complaint has been filed before a special court here on Wednesday under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and vivo-India has been named an accused party apart from those arrested in this case, the sources told PTI.

In this investigation, the probe agency arrested four persons, including the MD of the Lava International mobile company Hari Om Rai, Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, Chartered Accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik.

The ED had then claimed in its remand papers before a local court that the alleged activities of the four enabled vivo-India to make wrongful gains that were detrimental to the economic sovereignty of India.

In July last year, the agency had raided Vivo-India and others having links with the matter, claiming to have cracked a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and several Indian companies.

At that time, the ED alleged that a mammoth Rs 62,476 crore was "illegally" transferred by Vivo-India to China to evade payment of taxes in India. The company however said that it "firmly adheres to its ethical principles and remains dedicated to legal compliance."

Hariom Rai had recently told a court that though his company and vivo-India were holding talks to start a joint venture (JV) in India a decade ago, he had nothing to do with the Chinese company or its representatives since 2014.

Rai has recently filed a bail petition in the trial court on medical grounds. He denied any direct or indirect control over Vivo's business, or deriving any monetary benefit. He also asserted that he was not involved in any transaction with Vivo or any company allegedly related to Vivo.

The agency filed an enforcement case information report (ECIR), the ED equivalent of a police FIR, on February 3 after studying a Delhi Police FIR of December last year against an associated company of Vivo-India, Grand Prospect International Communication Pvt Ltd (GPICPL), its directors, shareholders and some others professionals.