NEW DELHI: China will provide consular protection and assistance to two Chinese employees of Vivo arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, in a statement, urged New Delhi not to discriminate between companies of Indian and Chinese origin. “We are following what you mentioned. Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies to safeguard their lawful rights and interests,” Mao Ning told a press conference.
ED has arrested three top executives of Vivo India in connection with the probe into alleged money laundering by the Chinese smartphone maker. These include Vivo India interim CEO Hong Xuquan, Vivo chief financial officer Harinder Dahiya and consultant Hemant Munjal. The arrest comes two months after ED arrested four industry executives, including a Chinese national (Kyang alias Andrew Kuang) working for Vivo’s Indian arm, Lava International MD Hari Om Rai and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik.
Vivo remitted Rs 62,476 crore, about 50% of the turnover out of India, mainly to China. These remittances were made in order to disclose huge losses in Indian incorporated firms to avoid payment of taxes in India, said ED in its press note earlier.
ED conducted raids on Vivo-India and its affiliated individuals in July of the preceding year, exposing what it claimed to be a major money laundering network involving Chinese nationals and Indian companies. ED conducted raids over 48 locations last year including the Vivo mobile premises and its 23 associated companies such as Grand Prospect International Communication Pvt Ltd (GPICPL).