Operation Hafta Vasooli Impact: The Government of India has released a fresh list of 900 Chinese shell companies and asked agencies such as Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Income Tax Department (IT Dept) to investigate the case, Zee Business Special Correspondent Tarun Sharma said in his exclusive report on Wednesday. Zee Business' Operation Hafta Vasooli campaign, which was launched in May 2020, has campaigned relentlessly against fraudulent Chinese digital lending companies. 

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Sharma quoting sources said, “Most of these Chinese shell companies are in the business of digital lending.” He added that the ED has been raiding multiple premises of these firms which are facilitators of Chinese companies, in places like Delhi, Mumbai, and Gurugram. Authorities have been investigating in as many as two dozen locations, he said. 

ED has also taken action against payment gateway companies as some Chinese companies have been using these firms to send money abroad. The probing agency has also urged payment gateways to freeze their accounts. 

Earlier, SFIO had arrested an individual who has emerged as the mastermind behind incorporating a large number of shell companies with Chinese links in India and providing dummy directors on their boards. 

The arrest came against the backdrop of the crackdown on Chinese shell companies that are allegedly into “serious financial crimes”. In a statement on Sunday, the corporate affairs ministry said it has arrested one Dortse, who is on the board of Jillian India Ltd, on Saturday. 

The ministry assigned the investigation of Jilian Consultants India Private Limited and 32 other companies to SFIO on September 9. 

“Dortse and one Chinese national are the two directors in Jilian Consultants India Private Limited. Based on inputs and the investigations carried out, it was gathered that Dortse had fled from Delhi NCR to a remote place in Bihar and was attempting to escape India through the road route.”