Vivo India challenged integrity, sovereignty of country: ED to Delhi HC

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has told Delhi High Court through an affidavit that Vivo India indulged in money laundering to destabilise the financial system and challenge the integrity and sovereignty of the country.

The affidavit was filed before the Delhi High Court last week. The anti-money laundering agency has said in the affidavit that they were scanning the suspicious financial transactions of 22 firms owned by Hongkong based foreigners and entities. These firms transferred huge money to China.

It is also probing a money laundering case against Grand prospect International Communication private limited, a Jammu and Kashmir based distributor of Vivo. The firm was reportedly incorporated on the basis of forged documents and it was claiming to be subsidiary of Vivo India. The firm used an email [e-mail], indicates connection with Vivo India and it is in record of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

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Delhi-based Charted Accountant firm had helped in incorporating J&K based firm. This firm is in touch with Vivo India since 2014.

The ED has mentioned that Vivo India incorporated 22 firms in different states which allegedly laundered money. The Delhi based CA firm helped Vivo India in incorporating 22 firms.

Earlier, Vivo India had said that they were following all rules of the land of India.

Chinese smartphone company Vivo's top executives, directors Zhengshen Ou and Zhang Jie, had fled from India via Nepal.

In February, the ED initiated a Prevention of Money Laundering case against them on the basis of an FIR lodged with Kalkaji Police Station of Delhi under sections 417, 120B and 420 of IPC, 1860 against Grand Prospect International Communication Private Limited (GPICPL) and its Director, shareholders and certifying professionals etc on the basis of complaint filed by Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

As per the FIR, GPICPL and its shareholders had used forged identification documents and falsified addresses at the time of incorporation. The allegations were found to be true as the investigation revealed that the addresses mentioned by the directors of GPICPL did not belong to them, but was a government building and house of a senior bureaucrat.

ED has said that out of the total sale proceeds of Rs 1,25,185 crore, Vivo India remitted Rs 62,476 crore. i.e, almost 50 per cent of the turnover out of India, mainly to China.