New Delhi, 07 October (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has permitted Harinder Dahiya, a senior director of Chinese smartphone maker Vivo’s India unit and an accused in a money-laundering case, to travel to Bangkok, Thailand, from October 12 to 15 for business purposes.

A Bench headed by Justice Sachin Datta temporarily suspended the Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against Dahiya by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the four-day period of his proposed visit. The travel has been permitted in connection with official meetings relating to statutory audit matters, audit and control transformation, litigation, and business and finance strategy of Vivo India.

The High Court, while granting the permission, imposed stringent safeguards to ensure Dahiya's cooperation with the investigation and his return to India. He has been directed to furnish the required bond and security and comply with conditions intended to ensure his availability to the investigating agency and the court.

The court also noted Dahiya's record of compliance with summons and directions issued by the ED over the past three years. It observed that he is an Indian citizen with his family, residence, employment and assets in India, and that the proposed Bangkok visit was for a short period and related to his employment.

The matter stems from the money-laundering investigation into Vivo India that has been underway since 2022. The ED had conducted searches at multiple locations in July 2022 as part of its probe into alleged financial irregularities involving Vivo and entities linked to the company.

According to the ED's allegations, large sums of money were transferred out of India to China with the purported objective of avoiding taxes in India. The agency has proceeded against the accused under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In December 2023, the ED arrested Vivo India's then interim CEO Hong Xuquan, also known as Terry, Chief Financial Officer Harinder Dahiya and consultant Hemant Munjal in connection with the probe. Contemporary reports identified Dahiya as Vivo India's CFO at the time.

A Delhi court subsequently ordered their release after holding that their custody was illegal. The court noted that the accused had not been produced before the appropriate court within 24 hours of their arrest, as required under the relevant provisions.

The ED had earlier arrested four other accused in the case, including Lava International Managing Director Hari Om Rai, Chinese national Guangwen Kuang alias Andrew Kuang, and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik.

The Delhi High Court's latest order permits Dahiya's LOC to remain suspended only from October 12 to October 15, after which it will automatically revive. The court has also made clear that its observations in the travel matter will not amount to an expression of opinion on the merits of the underlying case.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar