On the 3rd of October 2023 morning, it was reported that the Delhi Police had raided several locations in connection with the online portal NewsClick, which had received several crores in funding from China.
Raids underway at different premises linked to NewsClick, no arrests made so far: Delhi Police Sources pic.twitter.com/DmnKNU517C
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2023
One of the locations raided by the Delhi Police in connection with the Newsclick scandal was that of television journalist turned YouTuber Abhisar Sharma.
Abhisar Sharma took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform that the Delhi Police had landed at his residence and was confiscating his laptop and phone.
Delhi police landed at my home. Taking away my laptop and Phone…
— Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) October 3, 2023
According to reports, several individuals have been raided – all of them connected to NewsClick. “Police raids Sanjay Rajoura, Bhasha Singh, Urmilesh, Prabir Purkayastha, Abhisar Sharma, Aunindyo Chakraborty and Sohail Hashmi’s places this morning. Phones and laptops taken. Some of them taken to police station. All of them associated with Newsclick”, one journalist tweeted.
Police raids Sanjay Rajoura, Bhasha Singh, Urmilesh, Prabir Purkayastha, Abhisar Sharma, Aunindyo Chakraborty and Sohail Hashmi’s places this morning. Phones and laptops taken. Some of them taken to police station. All of them associated with Newsclick.
— Neha Dixit (@nehadixit123) October 3, 2023
It is pertinent to note that NewsClick has been under the scanner for illicit foreign funding since the year 2021 – when Abhisar Sharma was working for the portal as well.
Enforcement Directorate says NewsClick received funds from US-based companies worth crores
The investigation conducted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) unveiled that an overseas fund amounting to Rs. 38.05 crores was deceitfully injected into NewsClick over a span of three years.
The received funds purportedly found their way to numerous contentious journalists, among them Gautam Navlakha and individuals associated with Teesta Setalvad.
Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a thorough search at the premises of PPK Newsclick Studio, its affiliated entities, as well as the directors and shareholders (consisting of ten entities) situated in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR).
Throughout the course of the search, foreign currency, documents indicating wrongdoing, and digital proof were confiscated.
Upon meticulous examination of the gathered evidence, it was uncovered that there were dubious transactions involving foreign inward remittances. Specifically, Rs. 9.59 crore was introduced through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and an additional Rs. 28.46 crore was purportedly generated through the export of services.
The ED Investigation brought to light that Prabir Purkayastha, the Director of Newsclick, had been acquainted with Neville Roy Singham of Worldwide Media Holdings LLC (Limited Liability Company) since 2017.
During the questioning, Prabir allegedly stated that he had no knowledge about Navielle’s company.
Based on the digital evidence seized, it was revealed that Prabir, in collaboration with Neville Roy Singham, who is reportedly linked to the Communist Party of China (CPC), had orchestrated a complex scheme.
To elaborate, the allegations suggest that Prabir Purkayastha and his associates, in an effort to secure a fund of Rs. 9.59 crores from a Chinese entity with significant emphasis, established a legal façade of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Furthermore, it is claimed that Neville Roy Singham had earlier transferred funds to Prabir under the pretext of consultancy fees, ostensibly to propagate a “leftist ideology”.
Both Prabir Purkayastha and the personnel at Newsclick Studio have been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the receipt of Rs. 28.46 crore from foreign sources.
NewsClick and its China link
After the ED investigation in 2021, an investigation by the New York Times in August 2023 uncovered an ecosystem of activist organisations, non-profits, shell corporations, and their intimate ties to China and Chinese propaganda. Notably, Neville Roy Singham is at the heart of this network. The article read, “What is less known, and is hidden amid a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies, is that Mr Singham works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide.”
It was highlighted that he has been successful in spreading talking points from the communist administration in nations including India, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States under the guise of progressive advocacy. The report pointed out, “In New Delhi, corporate filings show, Singham’s network financed a news site, NewsClick, that sprinkled its coverage with Chinese government talking points.”
Through this global ecosystem of activists and non-governmental organisations, China, which has been attempting to assert its economic and global might for quite some time, has created a system that covertly promotes the Chinese people and reiterates the official line. It showed how the country has been able to deflect criticism of its violations of human rights from around the world and how its position on global issues is woven into international discourses owing to this network.
