VIVO PMLA Case: ED Arrests Four Persons Including Lava MD And Chinese National

The central probe agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested four persons in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against Chinese smartphone-maker Vivo, officials told Tuesday. The arrested persons include: Hari Om Rai, MD of the Lava International mobile company, Guangwen Kyang, also known as Andrew Kuang, a Chinese national, Nitin Garg, a Chartered Accountant, and a person called Rajan Malik. Besides, federal probe agency snatched more than Rs. 10 lakhs.

In July last year, ED conducted raids on Vivo Mobiles India Pvt Ltd and its associated 23 firms and claimed that they had busted a “significant money laundering operation” involving Chinese nationals and several Indian firms. The agency then alleged that a substantial amount of Rs 62,476 crore was transferred by Vivo to China through illegal means to avoid payment of taxes in India.

The crackdown on the leading Chinese company came after the India’s financial crime 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. For this, they were alleged helped by CA Nitin Garg.

These 23 companies were found to have transferred huge amounts of funds to Vivo India, ED said.

Following the raids, it seized funds worth Rs 465 crore kept in 119 bank accounts by various entities involved in the case, Rs 73 lakh in cash and 2 kg gold bars, agency added.

Concerning the recent arrests, Lava International, a domestic mobile device manufacturing company, did not initiated any official response so far. The company holds about 1-2 per cent share in the smartphone market. Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Vivo responded to the arrest and said, “Vivo firmly adheres to its ethical principles and remains dedicated to legal compliance. The recent arrest deeply concerns us. We will exercise all available legal options” reports News 18.