India accuses Chinese smartphone giant Vivo of visa violations and tax evasion, covertly siphoning off US$13 billion to the mainland

At least 30 Chinese individuals entered India on business visas, but they “never disclosed” that Vivo was their employer, a court filing said

India’s Enforcement Directorate also alleged that about US$13 billion was remitted by Vivo to China to evade taxes in the South Asian country

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India’s Enforcement Directorate alleged that about US$13 billion was remitted outside the country by smartphone giant Vivo to some trading firms controlled by its Chinese parent, as a means to evade paying local taxes. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:53pm, 13 Oct 2023Updated: 9:02pm, 13 Oct 2023

Many employees of Chinese smartphone giant 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, India’s financial crime agency has said.

The court statement comes as tension rises with Beijing over business activities after New Delhi tightened curbs on incoming investment and banned hundreds of Chinese apps, following border clashes in 2020 that killed 20 Indian and four Chinese troops.

The accusations, detailed on Tuesday in a court filing that is not public, follow the arrest this week of a Vivo executive, Guangwen Kuang, in a money laundering investigation launched in 2022 into India’s second-biggest smartphone vendor.

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, the country’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in the 32-page filing.

A Vivo smartphone user is seen in Assam, a state in northeastern India, on January 15, 2020. Photo: Shutterstock

“Various Chinese nationals have been travelling across India, including sensitive places of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, in gross violation of Indian visa conditions,” the ED added, shedding light for the first time on the alleged offences.