Chinese technology company Alibaba’s India unit had filed some “false or fabricated” documents filed with the regulators, the probe into the affairs of the unit has revealed. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the Mumbai Police is investigating Alibaba Cloud (India) LLP and probes are still ongoing.
The city police initiated their investigation based on a complaint filed against the firm, its partners and some others by the Registrar of Companies (RoC), a part of the MCA, in Mumbai. The complaint claimed criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and falsification of documents under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act, according to the people in the know of the development.
After the establishment of Alibaba Cloud in March 2017, its Indian-origin partner resigned and the company was transferred to Chinese nationals, the probes found. Further, it has been discovered that certain information shared by the company’s representative with the RoC in July 2021 was “untrue”.
Additionally, the registered office of the company in Mumbai was not found to be existing at the address given in its filing, a person shared, calling it a violation of the Companies Act.
The MCA had investigated over 700 firms with Chinese nationals on board, based on intelligence inputs from the home ministry with Alibaba Cloud being one of them.
“There is a suspicion that the firms are being used as a vehicle for money laundering. The probe is undertaken to find the source and the ultimate beneficiary of the money and if there is any political or economic connection,” an official said.
MCA action
In a two-stage action against such firms, the MCA first analysed the documents filed by the directors and companies to look for fraudulent activities. In the second stage, the RoC was required to file FIRs at local police stations against companies where it found or suspected irregularities.
In the case of Alibaba Cloud, the MCA investigation uncovered that a CA had helped incorporate the local entity on March 25, 2017 with three partners – Pooja Cherian (98 per cent shares), Tip Pak Tung Janson (1 per cent shares) and Timothy Alexander Steinert (1 per cent shares).
Anand Kidambi, the chartered accountant, had moved the Supreme Court last month seeking to quash an FIR against him. According to the MCA, Kidambi had helped setup the company by filing fabricated documents.
