Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi under SFIO probe for fund diversion of nearly ₹6,000 crore: Report

Time of India

3 days ago

NEW DELHI: The Serious Fraud Investigation Officer (SFIO), on the
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
' (MCA) direction, has started a probe into Chinese
Vivo
,
Oppo
, and
Xiaomi
after the
Registrar of Companies
(RoC) alleged
fund diversion
of nearly ₹6,000 crore by the smartphone brands, Moneycontrol reported on Wednesday citing two unnamed government sources.
'SFIO is probing Vivo. Xiaomi and Oppo have also given to SFIO. Fund diversions have been alleged in the RoC report. Once the SFIO report is finalised, they will submit it to the MCA,' one of the sources told the publication.
The SFIO's investigation commenced in March this year, and is expected to conclude in a year, the second source told the publication, adding that the RoC report found that the three smartphone companies have cumulatively diverted nearly ₹6,000 crore.
However, the findings of the report have not been made public yet.
Once SFIO concludes its investigation, it will submit findings to the ministry, which has the authority to initiate legal proceedings against the companies, their directors, and others, in a special court.
ETTelecom has reached out to Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo for comments, and will update the story when they respond.
Chinese brands, along with South Korean Samsung, dominated the top five ranks in the Indian smartphone market in the April-June quarter (Q2 2025).
First-ranked Vivo held the highest volume share of 19%, followed by Samsung (14.5%), Oppo (13.4%), Realme (9.7%), and Xiaomi (9.6%), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).
The Economic Times, citing RoC filings, separately reported in May that auditors of Chinese smartphone maker Oppo and Realme have red-flagged bookkeeping, business processes, and incomplete records.
These reports come at a time when the Chinese brands have been reeling under the Narendra Modi-led government's intense regulatory scrutiny for the fast five years, with the allegations ranging from several irregularities such as customs duty, income tax evasion and money laundering.