New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to former Lava International director Hari Om Rai, who was arrested in October last year in a money laundering case involving Vivo Mobile Communication China and its Indian group entities.
Judge Manoj Kumar Ohri noted that Rai has been in custody for over a year and the trial is at the documentation stage and charges are yet to be filed as the trial is “not expected to end in the near future and the delay is not attributable to the suspect”, keeping him in custody by using Article 45 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act as “an instrument of detention or as a shackle is not permitted”. The freedom of a suspect cannot be restricted by Article 45 without taking into account all other relevant considerations, the court said.
Under this section, bail may be granted only if there is prima facie satisfaction that the suspect has not committed the offense and that the person is not likely to commit an offense if released on bail.
The case has 48 suspects, 527 witnesses and 80,000 pages. Of the seven suspects arrested, the arrest of three persons has been declared illegal by the court and another three have been released on bail, the court said.
The court also made it clear that it did not express any judgment on the merits of the case.
The court asked Rai not to leave the National Capital Region without prior permission from the court concerned and also to surrender his passport. He must also appear before the relevant court while the proceedings are still ongoing. According to the Enforcement Directorate, Rai had invited Chinese nationals from Vivo China in 2013-2014 with the intention of enabling them to set up a web of companies in India by concealing real ownership. He is said to have provided them with logistical and ground support and helped them gain a foothold in India by circumventing foreign direct investment rules. It is also alleged that he transferred around Rs 3.17 crore, including Rs 2.62 crore from Lava and Rs 55 lakh from his personal account to Labquest Engineering, to help Vivo China set up a number of companies without disclosing that it is the manager of those entities. The ED has accused Vivo India of transferring Rs 70,837 crore of the total funds of Rs 71,625 crore collected by them from the sale of goods during the period January 2015 to March 2021. By creating a meshed and pan-India structure, it acquired Vivo India Rs 20,241.17 crore in proceeds of crime, the complaint said.
Leave a Reply