Lawfare, General – Journalists

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday imposed a penalty of ₹184 crore on news portal NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for alleged violations of foreign funding regulations, the agency said.

Of the ₹184 crore, a ₹120 crore penalty was slapped on NewsClick, while Purkayastha was penalised ₹64 crore.

NewsClick and its founder are under investigation by multiple agencies, including the ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Delhi Police and the Income Tax (IT) department, for violations ranging from alleged anti-national activities to money laundering and violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

Also read: ED probe against senior IAS’s ‘aide’ to continue despite HC quashing FIR

Delhi Police arrested Purkayastha in October 2023. He is currently out on bail.