New Delhi, December 26: Vivo Mobile India Private Limited since its inception in India in 2014 remitted funds to the tune of over Rs 70,000 crores out of the total funds accumulated by them through sale of goods, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe in the money laundering case has found. The details were revealed in the charge sheet filed by the financial probe agency against Vivo India. According to the ED charge sheet, seen by IANS, “Vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd since its inception in 2014 remitted Rs 7,08,37,25,17,191.04 out of India out of the Rs 7,16,25,02,26,650.17 (Over Rs 70,000 crore) accumulated by them through sale of goods.”

The ED claimed that the imports were made by Vivo India from entities based in Hong Kong, Samoa and British Virgin Islands. It said, “These foreign companies are hired by Vivo India and are termed as ‘Trading Companies’. Many of these overseas companies are found to be owned or controlled by Vivo China, which establishes the facts that Vivo India has siphoned off thousands of crores of foreign currency to its beneficial owner Vivo China.” Money Laundering Case: Delhi Court Sends Vivo India Interim CEO Hong Xuquan, Two Others to Three-Day ED Custody

Mentioning the role of Hari Om Rai, Managing Director of the Lava International Limited, the ED said, “During the probe, it was found that Vivo China with the active assistance of Rai, used an Indian company -- Labquest Engineering Private Ltd as a front for establishing their network of companies in India and for carrying out activities which were not permitted otherwise.” It said, “Vivo China controlled and monopolised all the operations of Vivo Mobiles in India through Vivo India, which in turn controlled and monopolised the operations of 23 companies SDCs of Vivo.

“All these companies were controlled and operated by the Chinese management of these companies,” the ED claimed. The ED said that all the 23 companies were incorporated by Vivo China in India with the help of Rai; Rajan Malik and Nitin Garg (chartered accountants) and these companies are the exclusive distributor of Vivo phones and accessories. The ED further said that many of the Chinese persons employed with Vivo India and SDCs were associated with Vivo China and there is complete economic control of Vivo India over the finances of these SDCs, which on paper have been projected as independent legal entities in the statutory compliances made before the Indian government.

The ED probe also found that the Vivo group companies employees communicated through various Chinese applications – WeChat, DingTalk, V-Chat and despite these companies operating in India, their data was not maintained in India and it was found that their data was maintained in the servers in China, which is not accessible to Indian authorities. The ED probe also found grave violation of visa rules for entry into India by or in relation to office bearers of Vivo China and its related companies have been also been found. ED Files First Charge Sheet Against Chinese Smartphone Maker Vivo-India, Others

“Chinese nationals submitted false information before the Indian Embassy or Mission in China for getting a visa for their travel to India which is a matter of 'grave' 'national security concern’," the ED alleged. It also said that to circumvent the verification and scrutiny from Indian government authorities, these Chinese nationals used an Indian entity -- Lava International Limited -- to get invitation letters to avoid any suspicion.

Those named in the charge sheet, filed before a special court in Delhi on December 7, include Rai, Guangwen Kyang alias Andrew Kuang (a Chinese national who allegedly played a key role in Vivo’s money laundering activities), Garg and Malik (statutory auditors of Lava). Vivo as a company has also been named as an accused in the charge sheet. They have been charged under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED probe that began in 2022 has revealed that the Chinese phone manufacturer had incorporated 19 more companies in various cities after its entry in India in 2014.

These companies had Chinese nationals as their directors and or shareholders and controlled the complete supply chain of Vivo Mobiles in India. A Delhi court has sent three freshly arrested top executives to three-day ED custody in a money laundering case against the Chinese smartphone-maker Vivo. On December 23, the ED arrested three accused -- Vivo India interim CEO Hong Xuquan, Vivo chief financial officer (CFO) Harinder Dahiya and consultant Hemant Munjal in connection with its probe.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 26, 2023 04:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).