Authorities arrest mastermind in crackdown on Chinese shell companies

After a Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) investigation led to simultaneous search and seizure operations at offices in Gurgaon, Bangalore, and Hyderabad on September 8, the authorities were able to identify a person named Dortse as the criminal mastermind behind a series of shell companies tied to China. They arrested him on September 10, as he tried to flee the country.

In a press release on PIB, the government confirmed that Dortse had incorporated a series of shell companies with links to Chinese firms that would provide dummy directors to those foreign companies.

The MCA raided the offices of Jillian Consultants India Private Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jilian Hong Kong Ltd., at Gurgaon, Fininty Pvt Ltd in Bangalore, and Husys Consulting Ltd, an erstwhile listed company, in Hyderabad to gather this information. The raids found proof of various dummy directors whose electronic signatures and company seals were in the offices.

Dortse and a Chinese individual are registered directors of Jillian Consultants. The Indian employees of the various shell companies were in touch with their Chinese counterparts.

Dortse, a registered resident of Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, was arrested by a Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) team in Bihar as he was attempting to flee the country via a road route.