ED arrests four persons in money laundering case against Chinese phone-maker Vivo
New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has arrested four persons including the MD of the Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national as part of its ongoing money-laundering probe against Chinese smartphone-maker Vivo, official sources said on Tuesday.
They identified the four as Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International company, Chinese national Guangwen Kyang, Chartered Accountant Nitin Garg and a person called Rajan Malik.
They have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
An e-mail sent to Lava International for its reaction did not elicit an immediate response. Lava International, a domestic mobile device manufacturing company, claims to have 1-2 per cent share in the smartphone market.
The agency had raided Vivo and its linked persons in July last year, claiming to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies.
The ED had then alleged that a whopping Rs 62,476 crore was "illegally" transferred by Vivo to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India. The crackdown on the leading Chinese company came after the federal probe agency found that three Chinese nationals -- all of whom "left" India during 2018-21 --and another person from that country incorporated 23 companies in India in which they were also allegedly helped by CA Nitin Garg.
These 23 companies are found to have transferred huge amounts of funds to Vivo India. Further, out of the total sale proceeds of Rs 1,25,185 crore, Vivo India remitted Rs 62,476 crore or almost 50 per cent of the turnover out of India, mainly to China, the ED had alleged.
These remittances, it added, were made in order to "disclose huge losses in Indian incorporated companies to avoid payment of taxes in India." The action is seen as part of the Union government's effort to tighten checks on Chinese entities that are allegedly indulging in serious financial crimes like money laundering and tax evasion while operating here. It is also being seen as continued crackdown on such firms and their linked Indian operatives.
These developments also come even as the military stand-off between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh has been ongoing for more than three years now.
Vivo, post the ED searches of July 5, 2022, had said it was "a responsible corporate and was committed to be fully compliant with laws." The agency said while it followed "all due procedures as per law" during the raids conducted under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it alleged "employees of Vivo India, including some Chinese nationals, did not cooperate with the search proceedings and tried to abscond, remove and hide digital devices which were retrieved by the search teams." The ED also said that post the raids, it seized funds worth Rs 465 crore kept in 119 bank accounts by various entities involved in the case, Rs 73 lakh cash and 2 kg gold bars.
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 (Kalkaji police station) of December last year against a associated company of Vivo, Grand Prospect International Communication Pvt Ltd (GPICPL), its directors, shareholders and some others professionals.
The police complaint was filed by the Corporate Affairs Ministry alleging that GPICPL and its shareholders used "forged" identification documents and "falsified" addresses at the time of incorporation of the company in December, 2014. This company had its registered address in Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Gandhinagar (Gujarat) and Jammu (J&K). The three Chinese nationals, mentioned above, incorporated this company while a fourth one, Zhixin Wei, also opened four companies to carry out similar transactions.
"The allegations (made by the Corporate Affairs ministry) were found to be true as the investigation revealed that the addresses mentioned by the directors of GPICPL did not belong to them, but in fact it was a government building and house of a senior bureaucrat," the ED said.
It said Vivo Mobiles Pvt Ltd was incorporated on August 1, 2014 as a subsidiary of Multi Accord Ltd, a Hong Kong-based company.
The ED identified the other 22 companies as: Rui Chuang Technologies Pvt Ltd (Ahmedabad), V Dream Technology & Communication Pvt Ltd (Hyderabad), Regenvo Mobile Pvt Ltd (Lucknow), Fangs Technology Pvt Ltd (Chennai), Weiwo Communication Pvt Ltd (Bangalore), Bubugao Communication Pvt Ltd (Jaipur), Haicheng Mobile (India) Pvt Ltd (Delhi), Joinmay Mumbai Electronics Pvt. Ltd (Mumbai), Yingjia Communication Pvt Ltd (Kolkata) and Jie Lian Mobile India Pvt. Ltd. (Indore).
The rest are Vigour Mobile India Pvt Ltd (Gurugram), Hisoa Electronic Pvt Ltd (Pune), Haijin Trade India Pvt Ltd (Kochi), Rongsheng Mobile India Pvt Ltd (Guwahati), Morefun Communication Pvt Ltd (Patna), Aohua Mobile India Pvt Ltd (Raipur), Pioneer Mobile Pvt Ltd (Bhubaneswar), Unimay Electronic Pvt Ltd (Nagpur), Junwei Electronic Pvt Ltd (Aurangabad), Huijin Electronic India Pvt Ltd (Ranchi), MGM Sales Pvt Ltd (Dehradun) and Joinmay Electronic Pvt Ltd (Mumbai).
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
