The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted searches at 44 locations across the country in a money-laundering probe against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo and related firms, officials said. The raids are being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) sections.
He said the agency conducts searches at 44 locations linked to Vivo and its associated companies. Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana are some states where searches are underway.
Last month, the mobile phone maker’s Jammu and Kashmir distributor Grand Prospect International Communication, came under scrutiny from enforcement agencies after the corporate affairs ministry found that at least two Chinese shareholders had submitted forged documents and fake Indian addresses.
According to a report in Economic Times, the distributor projected itself as a subsidiary of Vivo China and submitted fake address details on Chinese shareholders Zhengshen Ou and Zheng Jie in official company records. On inquiry, one of the addresses was found to be the residence of a former Shillong chief secretary, while the other was that of a guard room in Himachal Pradesh.