New Delhi: In a significant development involving Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Vivo India Pvt Ltd, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken action by arresting four individuals, including a Chinese national and the Managing Director (MD) of Lava International, in connection with an alleged money laundering case. A reliable source from the ED informed IANS about the arrests, identifying the individuals as Guangwen Kyang, also known as Andrew Kuang, the Chinese national; Hari Om Rai, MD of Lava International; Rajan Malik, and Nitin Garg, the Chartered Accountant (CA).
The ED’s actions have come more than a year after conducting searches at 48 locations across India, linked to vivo Mobiles India Private Limited and its 23 affiliated companies, such as Grand Prospect International Communication Pvt Ltd (GPICPL). According to the ED, vivo Mobiles India Pvt Ltd, established on August 1, 2014, as a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Multi Accord Ltd, was registered at the Registrar of Companies (ROC) in Delhi.
GPICPL was registered on December 3, 2014, at ROC Shimla, with registered addresses in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, and Gandhinagar, Jammu. The company was founded by Zhengshen Ou, Bin Lou, and Zhang Jie, with assistance from Nitin Garg, the CA. Bin Lou left India on April 26, 2018, while Zhengshen Ou and Zhang Jie departed from India in 2021, as revealed by the financial investigation agency.
The ED’s investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stemmed from an FIR filed by the Delhi Police, based on a complaint from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The FIR was registered at the Kalkaji police station in Delhi under sections 417, 120B, and 420 of the Indian Penal Code in 2022, against GPICPL, its Director, shareholders, certifying professionals, and others. The ED’s probe into alleged money laundering activities related to these entities has resulted in these recent arrests.