The Chinese smartphone brand Vivo is one of the leading brands in the mobile industry and is famous among consumers for introducing smartphones with great camera features and highly advanced specifications. Till now the company has launched various flagship devices and mid-range devices in India as well as global markets. Apart from other smartphone brands Vivo has also maintained its significant place in the Indian market.
However, the company now seems to land in trouble as India has accused the brand and some of its employees of Visa violations and siphoning off huge sums outside India.
India’s financial crime agency, Enforcement Directorate has mentioned that many employees of Vivo and its Indian affiliates concealed their employment when seeking Visas, and some breached rules by visiting the sensitive Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir. This week a Vivo executive, Guangwen Kuang was also arrested in a money laundering investigation launched in 2022 into India’s second biggest smartphone player.
As per ED, at least 30 Chinese individuals entered India on business visas and worked as Vivo employees but their application forms “never disclosed” that the firm was their employer. Employees have concealed information regarding their employer in their visa applications and cheated the Indian embassy or missions in China.
The agency has earlier also raided 48 sites linked to Vivo and its associates in the money laundering investigation accusing the company of illegally siphoning money to China to evade Indian taxes. The court filing by the agency also reveals that Rs 1.07 trillion ($12.87 billion) was remitted outside India by Vivo to some trading companies controlled by its Chinese parent which as per the agency was done to escape government notice.
When Vivo was asked to comment on the arrest of its executive and the above allegations, the company said in a statement that the executive’s arrest deeply concerns us while adding that it remained dedicated to legal compliance.
