The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has recently conducted a search and seizure operation at two locations in Bengaluru in connection with Pigeon Education Technology India Private Limited, which operates under the name Odaclass, for suspected violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The investigation revealed that the online education company is entirely owned by Chinese nationals and is part of a complex web of entities, with its ultimate controlling company located in the Cayman Islands.
During the operation, it was found that the Indian director of the company, Vedant Hamirwasia, has no control or access to the company's affairs and follows all the instructions of the Chinese national director, Liu Can, who is the authorised signatory for all of the company's bank accounts in India.
Additionally, the company has remitted approximately Rs. 82 Crore to China under the guise of marketing expenses, without providing any evidence of availing services from the beneficiary entity.
Various incriminating documents and electronic backups were seized during the search, and the role of the previous directors who resigned last year, Sushant Srivastava, Priyanka Khandelawal, and Himanshu Garg, is also under investigation.
Also read: ED attaches Rs 4.5 crore worth Delhi asset in money laundering case involving Sanjay Bhandari
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