ED files case against BBC for allegedly violating foreign exchange rules

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case of violation of foreign exchange rules against BBC India. The case has been filed under the Foreign Exchange Management Act after the central agency scrutinised foreign remittances of the British broadcaster’s India unit, said sources.

The BBC's foreign remittances are being scrutinised by the Enforcement Directorate, said sources on Thursday. BBC has been asked to furnish its accounts and financial statements, said agency sources.

The case has been filed less than two months after the Income Tax Department conducted a ‘survey’ for nearly 60 hours at the Mumbai and Delhi offices of the broadcaster. The tax department had alleged that BBC’s income in India was not commensurate with the scale of operations in the country. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the administrative body for the I-T department, claimed that tax has not been paid on certain remittances by its foreign entities.

The searches had been conducted weeks after the BBC released a two-part documentary that examined Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 riots in Gujarat, in which more than 1,000 people – most of them Muslims – were killed. The BBC's two-part series titled "India: The Modi Question", examined allegations that PM Modi, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, didn't do enough to stop the riots - allegations that were dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The government used emergency powers to take down posts sharing the documentary in January. The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in an interview, said the timing of the BBC documentary was “not accidental” and slammed the narrative in the foreign media.