CBI Launches Investigation into NewsClick for Alleged Foreign Funding Violations: Insider Sources

The CBI has taken over the investigation into alleged foreign funding violations by the NewsClick website. NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, the HR head of the news portal, were arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The arrests followed searches at the homes of journalists linked to NewsClick in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. The Enforcement Directorate had previously registered a case against the news portal and examined its funding, attaching some assets connected to it. The new FIR is based on information provided by the Enforcement Directorate, which had previously claimed that NewsClick received around Rs 38 crore from China-linked entities and is investigating how this money was used. NewsClick was also accused in a New York Times investigation of being funded by a network associated with US millionaire Neville Roy Singham, which promotes Chinese propaganda. The news portal’s offices were also searched by the Income Tax department in 2021 for alleged tax evasion.