Delhi HC issues notice to VIVO India officials on ED plea challenging their release in money laundering case
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Tuesday issued a notice to Vivo India officials who were recently released by a trial court in a money laundering case, media reported.
The Enforcement Directorate has approached the Delhi High Court, challenging the trial court's decision to release the three accused, which includes the interim CEO of the Chinese smartphone maker VIVO, and others involved in the money laundering case, ANI reported.
Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that keeping in view the gravity of the case put forward by Zoheb Hossain, Standing Counsel for the Directorate of Enforcement, it appears imperative to issue notice.
"Since the respondents/ individuals have already been released in pursuance of the impugned order, no ex-parte ad-interim orders can be passed, said the court, according to the report.
The court fixed Wednesday's date for a hearing in the matter.
The trial court last week allowed the plea moved by interim CEO of VIVO India, Hong Xuquan, Chief Financial Officer of VIVO India, Harinder Dahiya and VIVO's consultant, Hemant Munjal to challenge their arrest and subsequent custody in a money laundering case and directed their immediate release.
The trial court, while passing the direction, noted that the accused were not produced before the court within 24 hours of the arrest, hence their "custody was illegal".
The three arrested accused had claimed that they were arrested on December 21 and not on December 22 as recorded by the ED. They had moved an application challenging the arrest and declaring it illegal.
Advocates Manish Jain and Simon Benjamin represented the Enforcement Directorate, while Senior Advocates Siddharth Aggarwal and Arvind Nayyar appeared for the accused individuals in the case.
In this matter, the Enforcement Directorate had arrested four people in October, including a Chinese national and the Managing Director of Lava International.
Recently, the Patiala House Court in Delhi acknowledged a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) filed by the ED in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case related to the Chinese mobile company Vivo.
The accused involved in the case include Chinese national Guangwen Kuang, Lava International's MD Hariom Rai, Nitin Garg, and Rajan Malik, facing charges under various sections of the Money Laundering Act.
According to the ED chargesheet, VIVO India Company was also named as an accused in the matter of allegedly cheating the Government of India. It also stated that the company has set up an intricate network in India, the report added.
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