Shareholders forge identity documents in JK
Bills inflated, wrong balance sheets filed
Sanjeev Pargal/ Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/srinagar, July 5: The Enforcement Directorate today conducted simultaneous raids at eight places including outlets and residences of Vivo company’s proprietors in J&K– five in Jammu and two in Kashmir besides one in Ladakh in connection with Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
A total of 44 places across the country were searched by the Enforcement Directorate in the money-laundering investigation against Chinese Smartphone manufacturer Vivo and related firms, official sources told the Excelsior.
The Enforcement Directorate filed a money laundering case after taking cognisance of a recent Delhi Police (Economic Offences Wing) FIR against a distributor of the agency based in Jammu and Kashmir where it was alleged that a few Chinese shareholders in that company forged their identity documents.
The locations raided by the Enforcement Directorate in Jammu include Grand Prospect International Communication Private Limited, the head office of Vivo at Bahu Plaza, Pappu Electronics at Shalamar Road and its owner’s house at Trikuta Nagar, Swastik Electronics, Ranbir Market and its owner’s house at Green Belt Park in Gandhi Nagar.
While there was no official statement on raids and seizures made by the Enforcement Directorate during simultaneous raids which started this morning and continued till late in the evening, sources said, there were credible inputs of the Chinese company inflating bills, generating fake bills, filing wrong balance sheets and preparing duplicate bills among other offences to indulge in money laundering.
“Several important documents, apparatus, laptops and other gadgetries have been seized during day-long searches on the premises of Vivo company’s dealers and its head office in Jammu,” sources said.
A Vivo dealer was raided in Leh town of Ladakh UT in the same case.
Meanwhile, the ED today raided two business houses and offices in Srinagar in connection with the Vivo phones.
The ED team along with Police from Karan Nagar Police Station raided the house of one Basharat Khan son of Zareef Din Khan of Balgarden. They checked the documents pertaining to the sale of laptops and phones and made their zerox copies.
Later, they raided his Micromax Shop near City plaza Karan Nagar in Srinagar where he is doing business of laptops and mobile phones.
The ED also raid residential house of Dr Mohammad Iqbal Mir son of Habibullah Mir of Madin Sahib Hawal.
During the raid, business related documents and old check books were checked by the ED. Dr Mir is a BUMS Degree holder but is doing business of clothes and has also dealership of Vivo phone.
The searches, according to sources, were carried out under Sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED suspects this alleged forgery was done to launder illegally generated funds using shell or paper companies and some of these “proceeds of crime” were diverted to stay under the radar of Indian tax and enforcement agencies.
The action is being seen as part of the Union Government’s steps to tighten checks on Chinese entities and the continued crackdown on such firms and their linked Indian operatives that are allegedly indulging in serious financial crimes like money laundering and tax evasion while operating here.
The stepped-up action against the Chinese-backed companies or entities operating in India comes in the backdrop of the military stand-off between the two countries along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh that is on for more than two years now.
The ED in April ordered the seizure of Rs 5,551 crore worth of deposits of Chinese Smartphone giant Xiaomi India for alleged contravention of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The Income-Tax department raided Chinese telecom company Huawei in February and it claimed to found alleged manipulation of account books for reducing taxable income in India by the company.
Premises of a number of these Chinese Smartphone companies including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, their distributors and linked associates were raided across the country by the I-T department in December last year and it later claimed to have detected alleged unaccounted income worth over Rs 6,500 crore due to violation of the Indian tax law and regulations.
Vivo had a 15 per cent market share in the Indian Smartphone segment in the first quarter of 2022 with the shipment of 5.5 million devices, according to market research and analysis firm IDC.
According to a Counterpoint research report, Vivo became the top 5G brand in the Rs 10,000-20,000 price bracket segment in the country during March 2022 quarter.
“Vivo is cooperating with the authorities to provide them with all required information. As a responsible corporate, we are committed to be fully compliant with laws,” a Vivo spokesperson said in New Delhi.
Other States where raids were conducted include Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya and Maharashtra.
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