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Following the findings of the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in a 2022 case, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) could widen the investigation into the books of MG Motor India, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET).
In late 2023, MG Motor India was served an MCA notice to provide information about their accounts in the company's first year of operations in 2019-20.
Sources were quoted as saying that the ministry could also look into the books of smartphone firm Vivo, which has already been accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of money laundering. A spokesperson for MG Motor India said that the MCA had not approached the company regarding any investigation.
In October, the ED arrested four officials, including a Chinese national, after alleging that the Chinese smartphone maker Vivo India had created an "elaborate and well-knit network pan India structure" of firms to "utilise Indian companies as a front to get a foothold in Indian territory in gross violation of the extant foreign direct investment (FDI) norms from 2014-15 till 2017-18". Vivo responded by saying that the company remains dedicated to legal compliance and will exercise available legal options.
In 2022, the agency raided 48 sites linked to Vivo and its associates in the money laundering investigation, accusing the company of illegally siphoning money to China.
A source told ET that the MCA will soon decide on the need for a wider investigation after RoC submitted its report on MG Motor India.
MG Motor India had a 1.26 per cent share in India's passenger vehicle segment for the financial year ending in 2023. Earlier this year, media reports suggested that China's SAIC Motor planned to sell a majority stake to Indian investors to raise more than Rs 5,000 crore in 2-4 years.
