New Delhi: India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has imposed a penalty of ₹3.44 crore on BBC WS India for alleged foreign direct investment violations, a person informed about the development said on Friday.
The levy of penalty is part of an adjudication order issued on Friday. Besides the penalty, the ED also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 for every day after 15 October 2021 till the date of compliance, the person said on condition of not being named.
The investigating agency that looks into violations of India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) also fined nearly ₹1.15 crore each on three executives of BBC WS India for their alleged roles in overseeing company operations during the period of contravention, the person said.
The case against BBC India is related to alleged non-compliance with the country’s foreign direct investment limit of 26% for digital media, which is allowed with government approval, as per a press note issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in 2019.
“BBC WS India, which is a 100% FDI company engaged in uploading/streaming news and current affairs through digital media, did not reduce their FDI to 26%, and kept it at 100% in gross violation of regulations issued by government of India,” the person mentioned above said.
Queries emailed to ED and to BBC on Friday evening seeking comments for the story remained unanswered at the time of publishing.
BBC’s India rejig
Legal proceedings on the matter were initiated after a notice was issued to BBC WS India in August 2023, the three directors, and the finance head of the company, the person quoted above said.
In December 2023, BBC announced a restructure of its India operations to comply with India’s FDI rules. The restructure entailed forming a wholly Indian-owned company, Collective Newsroom, containing the BBC’s Indian language services.
That followed the Income Tax department’s visits to BBC’s New Delhi and Mumbai offices earlier in the year. BBC had previously aired a two-part documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots, which was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who at that time was the chief minister of Gujarat.
Collective Newsroom was founded by four of BBC’s most senior employees in India. With more than 250 journalists in the country, it brings content in seven languages and is the BBC’s sole provider of content for its Indian language websites and social media platforms, according to information available from its website.
Collective Newsroom planned to diversify its offerings with audio podcasts and TV news bulletins and was looking to partner with news entities beyond BBC, Mint reported on 9 April 2024 quoting the broadcaster. Its complete Indian ownership aligns with the country’s 26% FDI cap in the digital media space, the report said.
