THE DELHI High Court on Wednesday permitted mobile manufacturer Vivo to use its bank accounts subject to maintaining the balance of Rs 251 crore and submitting a bank guarantee of Rs 950 crore within seven working days. The Enforcement Directorate on July 5 had ordered a debit freeze on Vivo’s nine accounts in connection with a money laundering case, and alleged that proceeds of crime in it could amount to at least Rs 1,200 crore. During the hearing of the company’s petition against the freezing of its bank accounts, Justice Yashwant Varma observed that the mobile manufacturer has an “asset base” in India, including a factory. Issuing notice on Vivo’s petition for a formal response from the ED, the court in the order also directed Vivo to provide all details of its remittances that may be made from the bank accounts to the central agency every 48 hours. The court on Friday last week had asked the ED to respond to Vivo’s petition and take a decision on the company’s representation seeking permission to operate the accounts. Advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the ED, on Wednesday told the court that the agency had sought certain information from Vivo to take a decision on the representation and the data of around 5 GB was provided only on Tuesday to it in response. He sought a week’s time to make a decision on the representation. Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, representing Vivo, argued that the information of company’s bank accounts has alway been available with Income Tax department and other regulatory authorities. Submitting that the company has been deprived of “oxygen”, Aggarwal argued that no freezing order can say that the entity cannot operate a bank account and denude it of financial autonomy. “I have to carry on business. Surely, I am entitled to get money unrelated to all this. How can my online sales be stopped,” submitted Aggarwal. When the court suggested that operationalisation of bank accounts can be made subject to the company stopping making remittances overseas, Aggarwal said it will not be then able to manufacture mobiles. Aggarwal then suggested that the company will not touch what has already been frozen and also give a bank guarantee for the rest amount. He also submitted that the company will have to send money to China since it is getting certain material for manufacturing mobiles from there. The ED last week said that 48 locations across the country belonging to Vivo Mobiles India Private Limited and its 23 associated companies were searched on July 5 in connection with a money laundering probe.
