India Penalizes BBC for Foreign Exchange Violations
NEW DELHI: India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency responsible for investigating financial crimes, has imposed a fine of £314,510 on the British broadcaster BBC for alleged violations of foreign exchange regulations, according to three government sources cited by Reuters.
The ED launched an inquiry into potential breaches of India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act in April 2023, two months after tax authorities conducted searches at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai.
In December 2023, the BBC established a new entity for its Indian language services. However, sources revealed that the broadcaster was previously issued a show-cause notice for not complying with regulations requiring foreign ownership to be capped at 26%.
As a consequence, the BBC has been fined £314,510, with an additional penalty imposed for each day of non-compliance since October 15, 2021. Furthermore, three company directors have each been fined £104,836 for their roles in overseeing operations during the period of violation.
The BBC stated that it has not yet received an official adjudication order. “We will thoroughly assess any order upon receipt and determine appropriate next steps,” the broadcaster said in a statement.
The tax investigations in February 2023 coincided with the release of a BBC documentary examining Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat’s Chief Minister during the 2002 riots, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,000 people, predominantly Muslims.
