New Delhi | The CBI has booked former CEO of news channel NDTV Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy in a fresh case for violating FDI norms.
Among those accused in the case are the then NDTV Chief Executive Officer and Director Vikramaditya Chandra and unknown Income-Tax Department officials.
They were booked under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption. The news network allegedly floated 32 subsidiaries all over the world, “mostly in tax havens like Holland, UK, Dubai, Malaysia, Mauritius, etc.”, between 2004 and 2010 to bring foreign funds to India through illegal transactions.
The funds were allegedly invested by unknown public servants through NDTV and later laundered back to India through multiple layers of complex transactions and shell firms, the CBI has alleged.
“It is alleged that these transactions are sham transactions and aforementioned funds are invested by unknown public servants through NDTV Ltd and later laundered back to India through multiple layers of complex transactions and shell companies,” the CBI said in a statement.
NDTV in a statement called this action by the agency “continued persecution of free press”.
“NDTV and its founders have full faith in India’s judiciary at this crucial time and remain committed to the integrity of the company’s journalism,” the statement said.
“Attempts to silence free and fair reportage through malicious and fabricated charges will not succeed. This is not about a company or individuals but about a larger battle to maintain the freedom of the press, something which India has always been renowned for”, it added.
On August 9, the Roys were detained at the Mumbai airport and prevented from leaving the country.
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