Officials said on Wednesday that they have been booked for alleged violation of foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.
The Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has booked NDTV promoters - Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy - and others in connection with a case of alleged violation of foreign direct investment (FDI) rules.
NDTV denied the charges saying that this is a part of the "continued persecution of free press."
According to a PTI report, the NDTV is alleged to have floated 32 subsidiaries in several tax haven countries to bring foreign funds to India through sham transactions. NDTV’s former CEO Vikram Chandra has also been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption, officials were quoted as saying by the news agency.
CBI also raided his residence on Wednesday.
In a statement issued on its website, NDTV said despite a series of cases in which the investigation is deliberately stalled, agencies have found no evidence of any corruption by NDTV.
"As part of the continued persecution of free press, a new CBI case has been filed about a $150 million investment in NDTV's non-news business by NBCU, then owned by General Electric, a massive American conglomerate," the media group said.
The case makes the ludicrous charge that the transaction, declared to all relevant authorities in the US and India, laundered money for unknown public servants, it said.
NDTV and its founders have full faith in India's judiciary at this crucial time and remain committed to the integrity of the company's journalism, it added.
"Attempts to silence free and fair reportage through malicious and fabricated charges will not succeed. This is not about a company or individuals but about a larger battle to maintain the freedom of the press, something which India has always been renowned for," it further said.
Earlier this month, Radhika and Prannoy Roy were ‘prevented from leaving the country’ on the basis of a "preventive" lookout circular (LOC) issued by the CBI.
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