On Tuesday, October 10, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested four people in connection with the money laundering case against smartphone manufacturer Vivo. These include Hari Om Rai, the managing director of Lava International Company, Andrew Kuang, a Chinese national, and two accountants. ED claimed that Vivo redirected about $13 billion out of India for evading tax.
Vivo Officials Entered India Hiding Their Employment Information
Per a reports, ED has accused the Vivo officials of entering restricted Indian regions like Jammu and Kashmir by violating visa conditions. In a court filing, ED discloses that at least 30 Chinese individuals obtained Indian visas for conducting business in the country but established ties with Vivo.
These individuals then traveled to sensitive areas in the country, such as Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir, when they didn’t have the required permission, raising more concerns. A report by Wion News mentions that Vivo didn’t show any profits in the statutory filings from 2014-15 to 2019-20 and, hence, didn’t pay any income taxes to the Government of India.
In July 2022, ED estimated that Vivo funneled about $7.5 billion out of the country, mainly to China. Vivo India has responded by saying that it is committed to legal compliance. However, this alleged scandal could be a turning point in the Indian government’s policies toward Chinese investments and businesses.
In recent times, the Sino-India relations haven’t been the best, neither on the geopolitical front nor on diplomatic fronts. We’ve seen tensions on the border, along with political clashes. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has banned over 200 Chinese mobile apps in India. The Vivo scandal isn’t going to portray the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, with the second largest market share in India, in the best light.
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