The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended three senior executives of Vivo India as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering activities by the Chinese smartphone giant.
The individuals facing arrest include Hong Xuquan, the interim CEO of Vivo India, Harinder Dahiya, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and consultant Hemant Munjal.
This development comes on the heels of the ED’s arrest of four industry executives, including a Chinese national working for Vivo’s Indian arm, Lava International MD Hari Om Rai, and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik, two months ago.
The ED is suspecting transactions totaling over Rs 62,000 crore, allegedly remitted by Vivo to China out of Rs 1.25 lakh crore in receipts from its Indian operations since 2014. The money laundering case stems from an FIR registered by the Delhi Police, investigating purported forged addresses registered by the Chinese company for its Indian subsidiaries.
Vivo has characterized these recent arrests as “continued harassment” in the ongoing money laundering probe. In response, a spokesperson for Vivo expressed deep concern, stating, “We are deeply alarmed by the current action of the authorities.”
The spokesperson further conveyed, “The recent arrests demonstrate continued harassment and as such induce an environment of uncertainty amongst the wider industry landscape. We are resolute in using all legal avenues to address and challenge these accusations.”
Searches conducted by the ED on Vivo-linked premises last year stirred a diplomatic controversy, with the Chinese foreign ministry and embassy in India issuing statements asserting that Indian agency probes were damaging the confidence of foreign entities investing and operating in India.
The ED has filed a charge sheet against the four previously arrested individuals and Vivo India in a special PMLA court in Delhi. Judge Kiran Gupta, presiding over the case, has recently taken cognizance of the matter, summoning the accused on February 19.
In the charge sheet, the ED alleges that the accused engaged in illegal activities facilitating Vivo India to make wrongful gains, posing a threat to the economic sovereignty of India.