ED files first charge sheet against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo-India, others

New Delhi, December 7

The Enforcement Directorate filed its first charge sheet in connection with its money-laundering probe against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo and some others, official sources said on Thursday.

The prosecution complaint has been filed before a special court here on Wednesday under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Vivo-India has been named an accused apart from those arrested in the case, sources told PTI.

The federal probe agency arrested four persons, including the MD of the Lava International mobile company Hari Om Rai, in this investigation. The others who were taken into custody were Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang, Chartered Accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik.

The ED had then claimed in its remand papers before a local court here that the alleged activities of the four enabled Vivo-India to make wrongful gains that were detrimental to the economic sovereignty of India.

It had raided Vivo-India and its linked persons in July last year, claiming to have busted a major money-laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies.