New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy, co-founders of New Delhi Television (NDTV), and the company CEO and Director Vikramaditya Chandra for bringing to the listed broadcaster tainted money of unidentified public servants through a web of transactions via the foreign direct investment (FDI) route.
The CBI in the FIR, registered on Monday night, said NDTV through its promoters Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, K.V.L. Naryanan Rao (since expired) and Chandra had entered into a criminal conspiracy with unidentified public servants to park their tainted money in the company.
According to FIR, at the time of NDTV’s incorporation on September 8, 1988 the Roy couple and Naryanan Rao (a retired IRS officer) were whole-time directors and Chandra was CEO-cum-whole-time Director. “During May 2OO4 to 2010, NDTV floated 32 subsidiary firms, mostly in tax havens, like Holland, the UK, Dubai, Malaysia and Mauritius. Majority of them had no business transaction and were meant only for financial transactions to bring funds from abroad,” the FIR said.
Terming them sham transactions, the FIR stated that the funds were invested by unidentified public servants through NDTV and later laundered back to India through multiple layers of transactions and shell companies. “The proceeds of corruption of unknown public servants were invested through NDTV,” the FIR said.
The CBI had initiated preliminary enquiry into the case in 2016 against unidentified income tax officials, the Roy couple, Naryanan Rao and Chandra.
NDTV had also incorporated Network PLC (NNPLC) in London on November 30, 2006. (PTI)
