Tightening the screws on the corrupt media firm New Delhi Television Ltd. (NDTV), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a new case of money laundering on media baron Prannoy Roy, wife Radhika and NDTV’s former CEO Vikram Chandra for floating more than 30 shell companies across the World to park the ill-gotten money of public servants. The case registered on August 19, 2019, also made NDTV as accused and certain unknown public servants. Who are all the public servants that parked money in NDTV as mentioned in the FIR, you ask? Sources indicate, that the major kingpin must be none other former Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, currently in CBI custody.
The seven-page First Information Report (FIR) is published at the end of the report. The FIR also talks about the conspiracy of certain Income Tax officials in helping NDTV to launder money. There are indications that it must be the two-lady controversial Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers exposed by the NDTV cases whistle-blower IRS officer S K Srivastava and other top IRS officials in Income Tax who were used by Chidambaram. Sources say these corrupt officers will be named in charge sheet later.
A quick reading of the FIR gives the impression that crooked Prannoy Roy was money laundering in the garb of journalism.
According to the FIR, NDTV was used as a vehicle to float shell firms across the World from 2004 to 2010 to route the ill-gotten money of public servants. “During the period from May 2004 to May 2010, NTV Ltd floated around 32 subsidiary firms all over the world, mostly in tax havens viz. Holland, UK, Dubai, Malaysia, Mauritius etc. The majority of these companies had no business transaction and they were meant only for financial transactions to bring funds from abroad[1].
“It is alleged that these transactions are sham transactions and the aforementioned funds are invested by unknown Public Servants through NDTV Ltd and later laundered back to India through multiple layers of complex transactions and shell companies. Proceeds of corruption of unknown public servants were investigated through NDTV,” said the CBI’s FIR.
Sources indicated that Prannoy Roy was acting as General Electric’s (GE) agent in India for a Railways Electrical Locomotives Project on behalf of several United Progressive Alliance (UPA) leaders and routed the kickbacks through GE’s subsidiary firm in Bermuda to the Netherlands. Chidambaram as Finance Minister approved this more than Rs.25,000 crores project and more than Rs.300 crores were routed through NDTV’s Netherland firm of GE’s subsidiary in Bermuda.
The CBI FIR says, NDTV also floated temporary TV channels to launder the money of these corrupt public servants in the name of NDTV Imagine, NDTV Lifestyle, NDTV Convergence, NDTV Labs and NDTV Emerging Markets, etc.[2]
The FIR also details how the corrupt Chidambaram headed Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) gave dubious clearances to NDTV to accept more than US$ 163 Million (more than Rs.800 crore) till September 2009. See the graphic below:
A quick reading of the FIR gives the impression that crooked Prannoy Roy was money laundering in the garb of journalism.
The CBI FIR against the NDTV Promoters is published below so readers can know how crooks in media houses launder money in the garb of journalism:
CBI FIR NDTV Dtd Aug 19, 2019 by PGurus on Scribd
References:
[1] NDTV claimed they sold dreams. IT said: No. It is a sham transaction – Aug 1, 2016, PGurus.com
[2] ED issues notice to NDTV, Prannoy Roy, wife Radhika Roy and Vikram Chandra for Rs.4369 crores FEMA violations with the help of P Chidambaram – Oct 18, 2018, PGurus.com
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Dharma after 70 years of aDharma! PC is a mafia don par excellence, he has henchman lurking under every stone and bush. Hope his case is adjudicated expeditiously and they throw him in the slammer for life.