Delhi HC allows Vivo to operate accounts frozen by ED in tax evasion probe

Delhi High Court directed Chinese smartphone maker Vivo to furnish a bank guarantee worth Rs 950 crore.

The Delhi HC allowed Vivo to operate its bank accounts, which were frozen by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money-laundering probe.

The court said that Vivo can operate its bank accounts to the extent that a balance of Rs 250 crore is maintained in its accounts at all times.

The court granted one week to the ED to file its response to the petition and listed the matter for further hearing on July 28. This comes after Delhi HC had last week asked ED to consider unfreezing some of Vivo’s bank accounts to pay for its liabilities.

On July 5, ED conducted raids at multiple locations across India in connection with the money laundering probe against Vivo.

The agency had said that Vivo remitted about Rs 62,476 crore of its turnover to China between 2017 and 2021 to avoid paying taxes in India. This was almost half of the Chinese company’s turnover of Rs 1.25 trillion, the ED said without stating the time period of the transaction.

The probe agency on July 5 had raided several places across the country in the money laundering investigation against Vivo and related firms.

The searches were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in several states, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Maharashtra.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate on a plea by Chinese smartphone maker Vivo seeking quashing of an order freezing its various bank accounts in connection with a money laundering probe initiated against it.