India Arrests Vivo Exec, Three Others In Money Laundering Case
Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's financial crimes agency on Tuesday arrested four company executives, including a Chinese national working for Indian smartphone maker Vivo, in connection with alleged money laundering, according to a legal document. and a lawyer working on the matter. business
The arrest adds to the Chinese phone maker's legal woes in India and comes amid rising tensions between Beijing and New Delhi, ranging from border disputes to India's growing control over Chinese companies and investments.
In a statement, Vivo said it “maintains its ethical principles and remains committed to compliance with the law. The latest arrest bothers us deeply. "We will pursue all available legal options."
India's Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Previously, two sources told Reuters that four Vivo employees had been arrested, but lawyers said during the court hearing that only one Vivo employee, a Chinese national identified in legal documents as Guangwen, had been arrested. Kuan:
Further details of the investigation were not immediately clear. ED advocate Manish Jain sought 10 days of remand for those arrested, but the judge granted only three days.
The names of the other three leaders and their affiliations were not immediately clear.
The executives were arrested in connection with the ongoing case in 2022, when the ED raided Vivo offices and charged them with money laundering, the first of the sources said.
Vivo has repeatedly denied these allegations. The company has previously stated that it is cooperating with authorities, providing them with all necessary information and that it is "committed to fully complying with the law."
Vivo is owned by Chinese company BBK Electronics, which also operates the Oppo and Realme brands in India. According to research firm Counterpoint, Vivo is India's second-largest smartphone brand with a 17% market share, behind Samsung.
In 2022, the ED froze 119 bank accounts linked to Vivo's Indian business, but the court later overturned the decision.
Indian police also formally accused Vivo of providing funds to a news portal under investigation for spreading Chinese propaganda, Reuters reported last week. Vivo has not commented on the matter.
Relations between India and China have deteriorated further since a military clash along their disputed Himalayan border in 2020 that left 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers dead.
India has since banned hundreds of Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing national security concerns, and tightened controls on inbound investments from its neighbor.
A recent proposal by automaker BYD to invest $1 billion in electric vehicle and battery manufacturing in India has faced increasing scrutiny from New Delhi, forcing the automaker to scrap its plans, Reuters reported in July.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra and Arpan Chaturvedi in Delhi; Editing by Sohini Goswami, Kim Coghill and Mark Potter)
