The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International mobile company, in a money laundering case involving smartphone-maker Vivo. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri granted relief to the Lava official, who was in custody since his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in October last year.
Rai was arrested on money laundering charges in the case against Vivo-India and others.
He was represented by senior advocate Vikas Pahwa and lawyer Abhay Raj Varma.
The ED has earlier filed a chargesheet against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo-India and others under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
A trial court had in September refused to grant bail to Rai, saying no grounds for relief were made out.
The ED has claimed the alleged activities of the accused enabled Vivo-India to make wrongful gains that were detrimental to the economic sovereignty of the country.
It has alleged that a whopping Rs 62,476 crore was “illegally” transferred by Vivo-India to China to avoid payment of taxes in India.
The company has rejected the allegations, saying it “firmly adheres to its ethical principles and remains dedicated to legal compliance”.
The anti-money laundering agency had raided Vivo-India and persons linked to it earlier in July 2022 and claimed to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies.
