Prabir Purkayastha serves as the editor for Newsclick.in. He possesses a background in engineering and is an advocate for scientific initiatives within the domains of power, telecommunications, and software. A prominent figure, he stands as a foundational member of the Delhi Science Forum. Collaboratively with Vijay Prashad, he has penned “Enron Blowout: Corporate Capitalism and Theft of the Global Commons” (LeftWord 2002), a notable publication delving into the realms of corporate capitalism and the appropriation of global resources.

A residence in the Saket area of New Delhi, belonging to Prabir Purkayashta, the chief editor of NewsClick, has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of their investigation into alleged money laundering involving the news portal. This development comes alongside the anticipation of the agency filing a formal charge sheet in relation to this case, according to individuals with knowledge of the situation. The federal authority conducted searches at Purkayastha’s properties in September 2021.

In the current week, an article published by The New York Times alleged that the news portal was a constituent of a worldwide network that obtained financial backing from American tycoon Neville Roy Singham. Singham purportedly maintains close ties with the media machinery of the Chinese government.

NewsClick, in response, released a statement on Monday vehemently denying the accusations levelled against it. The news outlet asserted that these claims, put forth by certain political figures and segments of the media, lack factual or legal basis.

Sources mentioned earlier have indicated that the property, valued at ₹4.52 crore, has been seized under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This property is allegedly linked to ill-gotten gains. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting an inquiry into the purportedly “fraudulent” inflow of foreign funds amounting to over ₹86 crore into the company operating the news portal.

According to the ED, the company declared the receipt of ₹76.84 crore, ₹1.61 crore, ₹26.98 lakh, and ₹2.03 lakh as export remittances from entities such as Justice and Education Fund Inc USA, The Tricontinental Ltd Inc USA, GSPAN LLC USA, and Centro Popular De Midas, Brazil. These transactions reportedly took place from March 2018 until the raids conducted in 2021. Officials have clarified that the agency has not unearthed any evidence indicating the provision of services to these entities through exports.

Email correspondences involving Neville Roy Singham, Prabir Purkayastha, several journalists, and CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat have come to light. These emails revolve around the following themes:

• Advocating China’s stance regarding the COVID pandemic.
• Extending support to the agricultural protests underway in India.
• Forging partnerships with Indian communist factions.
• Propagating Chinese narrative and information.
• Justifying confrontations at the border between China and India.

Furthermore, Neville Roy Singham is seen facilitating an introduction between the #Newsclick team and individuals affiliated with Chinese authorities, indicating a channel for receiving further directives or instructions.

n his email communication, Singham explicitly outlines his strategy to utilize his network to promote a favorable perception of China’s response to the COVID-19 situation.

“We are collaboratively developing a series of three articles focused on China’s approach to handling the coronavirus. These pieces will be initially distributed by Globetrotter and subsequently consolidated into a publication by TriContinental. The first article is nearly finalized, pending final editing by Globetrotter,” Singham stated in an email directed to his team members situated in China, the United States, and the NewsClick team in India.

Displaying staunch allegiance, Prabir Purkayastha, the Editor-in-chief of NewsClick, actively seeks additional details, including the number of tests administered and the count of individuals testing positive. This information is intended to assist Singham and Tricontinental in their endeavour to disseminate a narrative favouring China, while simultaneously drawing a comparison with countries like the United States and India. Purkayastha contends that these countries struggled to scale up the production of testing kits and acquire necessary equipment, despite having a relatively longer period for preparation.