New Delhi, Feb 16 (NationPress) A significant ruling was made by the Adjudicating Authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) on Monday, imposing a penalty of Rs 184 crore on the contentious journalist and owner of a production company, Prabir Purkayastha, alongside his firm for transgressing FDI regulations and engaging in illicit foreign inward remittances, as stated by an ED official.

The adjudication led to a penalty of Rs 120 crore levied against PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd and Rs 64 crore against Purkayastha, who serves as the company's director, according to a statement released by the ED.

This adjudication process stemmed from a complaint filed under Section 16 of FEMA by the Enforcement Directorate, alleging violations of FEMA and associated regulations concerning the receipt and utilization of foreign funds.

The Adjudicating Authority highlighted that the violations were significant, intentional, and systemic, involving extensive foreign exchange transactions and violations of statutory declarations provided to regulatory bodies, as stated in their report.

Earlier, Purkayastha was cited in a charge sheet by the Delhi Police in May 2024, alleging that he and PPK Newsclick Studio operated as a clandestine mechanism designed to divert funds for a malicious agenda, including inciting and perpetuating the Delhi riots, spreading misinformation about Covid-19, fueling farmer protests, and financing banned Left-Wing Extremism and Pakistan-sponsored terrorist organizations.

On Monday, the order issued by the Adjudicating Authority, following an extensive review of records, evidence, and the submissions from the involved parties, indicated that an FDI amounting to Rs 9.59 crore was received in the fiscal year 2018-19 by misrepresenting the nature of the business activities in official filings, thus evading the stipulated sectoral conditions and entry route requirements established under FEMA.

Furthermore, the Adjudicating Authority noted that foreign inward remittances totaling Rs 82.63 crore, allegedly received between 2018-19 and 2023-24 for service exports, were found to contravene FEMA laws due to misclassification of exports and non-compliance with mandatory reporting obligations, including the submission of SOFTEX forms.

The authority also stated that the transactions were intentionally structured to undermine the goals of the foreign exchange regulatory framework.

The ruling concluded that Prabir Purkayastha, as the director of the company, was deemed responsible for the business operations during the relevant period and thus was held accountable under Section 42 of FEMA.