In the case of Chinese mobile company Vivo, which is facing money laundering case in India, China has urged India not to discriminate. China has also decided to provide consular protection and legal assistance to two Vivo officials.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said- We are keeping a close eye on this matter. The Chinese government will protect all the legal interests of its companies.
Recently, the Enforcement Directorate i.e. ED had arrested Vivo India's interim CEO Hong Xuquan, Vivo's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Harinder Dahiya and consultant Hemant Munjal. All three were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Earlier in October, ED had arrested Chinese national Guangwen Qiang alias Andrew Kuang, Lava International MD Hariom Rai and chartered accountants Rajan Malik and Nitin Garg in a money laundering case. That means a total of 7 people have been arrested.
About a year ago, the agency had searched Vivo Mobiles and its 23 associate companies at 48 locations across the country.
According to ED allegations, 19 companies were formed in India for the purpose of illegally transferring funds to China. Apart from this, the investigating agency of economic matters found that Vivo Mobiles India transferred half of its sales income (about Rs 1.25 lakh crore) to China to save tax. In this, Rs 62,476 crore was illegally sent to China.
If we understand the Prevention of Money Laundering Act i.e. PMLA in common language, it means a law against those who misappropriate and dispose of the money. This Act seeks to prevent money-laundering, confiscate property derived from or involved in money-laundering and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
PMLA was formed in 2002 during the NDA regime. This law came into effect in 2005 during the Congress rule, when P. Chidambaram was the Finance Minister of the country. The first change in the PMLA law was also made by Chidambaram in 2005.
Under PMLA, rules like ED being able to arrest the accused, confiscating his properties, strict conditions for getting bail after arrest and the statement recorded before the investigating officer being admissible as evidence in the court, make it powerful.
