On December 23, India's Enforcement Directorate arrested three more executives of Vivo India on suspicion of involvement in money laundering cases, India** said, citing sources. According to the Hindustan Times, Vivo India seems to be in trouble.
Screenshot of the Hindustan Times report.
In October, India's Enforcement Directorate detained four people, including a Vivo India executive (a Chinese national). At that time, the bureau raided Vivo's office, claiming to be investigating whether it was engaged in alleged money laundering activities. Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate of India filed an indictment against the case. Vivo has denied the allegations.
According to the report, the Indian Enforcement Directorate arrested Hong Xuquan, interim CEO of vivo India, and the other two were Harinder Dahiya, chief financial officer of vivo India, and Heman Munjal, the company's adviser.
According to the Times of India, since 2014, vivo India has laundered a total of 12.5 billion rupees (about 10.) to its Chinese parent company700 million RMB). The Enforcement Directorate of India said that many people associated with vivo concealed their true jobs when applying for Indian visas. The bureau also accused some Vivo employees of violating regulations by traveling to the sensitive Kashmir region.
A Vivo spokesperson said: "We are deeply alarmed by the current actions of the Indian authorities. The recent arrests show that harassment continues, thus creating an environment of uncertainty in the broader industry landscape. We are determined to use all legal avenues to resolve and challenge these allegations. ”
A spokesman for India's Enforcement Directorate did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The source added that the arrested Vivo employee will appear in court on December 26.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post noted that India has stepped up scrutiny of Chinese companies and investments following border clashes in 2020.
* |Globe.com.