An Adjudicating Authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, has fined journalist Prabir Purkayastha and his company Rs 184 crore for breaching FDI norms and illegal foreign inward remittances. The penalty includes Rs 120 crore on PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd and Rs 64 crore on Purkayastha personally. The Enforcement Directorate initiated the adjudication proceedings based on a FEMA violation complaint, citing significant breaches related to foreign funds’ receipt and utilization.
The Adjudicating Authority highlighted that the violations were substantial, deliberate, and systemic, involving significant foreign exchange transactions and statutory declaration breaches. Purkayastha and his company were accused of misrepresenting business activities in statutory filings to receive Rs 9.59 crore in FDI during 2018-19, bypassing prescribed sectoral conditions. Additionally, foreign inward remittances of Rs 82.63 crore, supposedly for service exports between 2018-19 and 2023-24, were found to contravene FEMA provisions due to misclassification and non-compliance with reporting requirements.
The Authority noted that the transactions were structured to circumvent foreign exchange regulations’ objectives. Purkayastha, as the company’s Director, was held accountable under Section 42 of FEMA for overseeing the business conduct during the relevant period.
