Vivo India committed “heinous” economic offence, says ED to Delhi High Court

Vivo India has been accused of committing heinous economic offence with the money laundering case. Here are all the details.

The ED says that Vivo India employees along with some Chinese nationals did not cooperate with the search proceedings. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

It seems that troubles for Vivo India are not going to end anytime soon! The case between the Enforcement Directorate and Vivo have been going related to a money laundering issue. As part of the latest update on the scene, the Enforcement Directorate has told the Delhi High Court that the investigation it carried out against Vivo India was strictly in accordance with the provisions of PMLA. Additionally, the ED also says that the offence relates to a money laundering case, which is a heinous economic offence.

The ED says in an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court says the “commercial engagements of the petitioner and its reputation and goodwill are not a relevant consideration during the investigation into the offence of money laundering by the respondent.” Additionally, it also says that Vivo India employees along with some Chinese nationals did not cooperate with the search proceedings. The ED says it also "had tried to abscond, remove and hide digital devices which were retrieved by the search teams".

ED not happy with Vivo India conduct

Prior to this, the ED had frozen all bank accounts of the company in India after conducting its investigation a few weeks ago. However, Vivo India had appealed to the court to let the company access its bank accounts in order to make payments to all its stakeholders.

Vivo is, however, not the only one in troubled waters over issues related to tax evasion. Xiaomi and Huawei have also been accused of conducting similar habits, wherein they managed to evade their taxes.

These cases are coming up at a time when the Indian market is gearing up for the upcoming festive season in the country. Vivo's sub-brand iQOO is preparing to launch the iQOO 9T in India as the flagship model for India and at the same time, the company has been silently adding new models to its affordable Y series range. The iQOO 9T will debut the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset in India.