According to a report, the news portal NewsClick, which is under fire for allegedly having ties with China, got Rs. 28.29 crore from four distinct businesses connected to an American businessman accused of spreading Chinese propaganda between 2018 and 2021.

According to a Delhi Police official quoted in the Hindustan Times, out of the total of 28.29 crore, 27.51 crore came from the Justice and Education Fund, a US-based organisation, 26.98 lakh from GSPAN LLC, 49.31 lakh from Tricontinental Limited Inc., and 2.03 lakh from Centro Popular De Midas, a Brazilian organisation.

NewsClick transferred ₹20.53 lakhs to Gautam Navlakha:

In response to a request for anonymity, the official stated, “We have found during investigation that out of those received funds, the PPK Studio NewsClick Private Limited – the mother company of NewsClick – transferred ₹20.53 lakhs to Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case,” as reported by the Hindustan Times.

The findings came two days after Prabir Purkayastha, the founder of NewsClick, and Amit Chakravarty, the head of human resources, were detained in connection with an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case after extensive raids in five cities.

What was the purpose?

The webpage was allegedly a part of a global network that was paid to spread Chinese propaganda, according to a report that appeared in The New York Times on August 5.

The American newspaper claimed that wealthy Singham contributed money to NewsClick and other media organisations worldwide so that their content would include talking points from the Chinese government.

Further information provided by the Delhi Police officer referenced above indicated that Purkayastha, the incorporator of PPK Studio NewsClick Private Limited, did so on January 11, 2018.  “Three months later, the Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, Delaware – now a defunct company and part of Neville Singham network – invested ₹9.59 crore into the newly incorporated PPK Newsclick in April 2018. The foreign investors also managed to artificially jack up the premium of a share of ₹10 to ₹11,510,” he claimed.

Involvement of Communist Party of India

According to a second investigator from the Enforcement Directorate, which filed the initial money laundering complaint against the website in 2021, Rs. 52.09 lakhs was paid to an unnamed Communist Party of India (Marxist) member during the course of the inquiry.

“In 2021, ED searched the premises of NewsClick to collect additional information and help probe money laundering charges against the company. We could unearth a money trail of foreign remittances amounting to ₹38 crore...We also got sufficient evidence that a good amount of money was also paid to several journalists on the rolls of the company. During our raids, we found that there were numerous email exchanges between Singham and the director and stakeholder of NewsClick. These e-mails revealed that money was paid to NewsClick to spruce up Chinese propaganda especially its role in Africa, and defending China’s crackdown on Jack Ma,” the ED investigator continued, seeking anonymity.

Due to the fact that the son of one of CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury's colleagues who lives in the same home and works for NewsClick, the residence of Sitaram Yechury in the Capital was also searched on Tuesday. The home was searched by police, and they seized a laptop, two hard drives, and a phone.  Yechury stated, “Police came to my residence because one of my companions who lives with me there, his son, works for NewsClick. The police came to question him. They took his laptop and phone. What are they investigating? Nobody knows. If this is an attempt to try and muzzle the media, the country must know the reason behind this.”

Investigators discovered that Singham founded four US organisations, according to the ED officer. He said, “Subsequently, he leveraged flexibilities offered by the US nonprofit regulatory environment to fund media outfits in several countries globally.” 

Indian journalists were investigated

At least 400 police officers conducted raids on Tuesday at 30 different sites in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai, and Ghaziabad. During these raids, 46 people—including journalists, independent contractors, writers, and satirists—were interrogated for eight hours.

On August 17, the special cell of the Delhi Police filed a complaint under sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), and 22C (offences by companies, societies, or trusts) of the UAPA as well as sections 153A (promoting enmity) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. ED searched NewsClick and Purkayastha's offices in 2021.

The website denied every accusation. In a statement, Newsclick claimed that “All funding received by Newsclick has been through the appropriate banking channels and have been reported to the relevant authorities as required by law, as substantiated by the Reserve Bank of India in proceedings before the high court of Delhi.”

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