BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has conducted search and seizure action at two locations in Bengaluru in the Pigeon Education Technology India Pvt Ltd case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the agency stated in an official release on Thursday.
“The company is providing online education in the name of ‘Odaclass’. During the search, it was revealed that it is 100 per cent owned by Chinese nationals and is part of a group consisting of a complex web of entities with the ultimate controlling company in the Cayman Islands. The present directors of the company are Liu Can, who is a Chinese national, and Vedant Hamirwasia,” added the central agency.
“The search further revealed that the entire affairs of the company are controlled by Can from China and the Indian director has no control or access to the company’s affairs. He follows the instructions of Chinese people. The Chinese director is the authorised signatory in all the bank accounts of the company maintained in India and the same is being operated online through China,” the ED stated.
The agency added that the “company remitted around Rs 82 crore to China in the name of marketing expenses on the instructions of the Chinese persons without having proof of availing any services from the beneficiary entity”. During the searches, various incriminating documents and forensic backups from electronic devices were seized. “Role of the earlier directors of the company, Sushant Srivastava, Priyanka Khandelawal and Himanshu Garg, who had resigned last year, is also under investigation,” the ED added.