Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), one of the major media conglomerates in the nation and publisher of the Times of India Group, is being investigated by a Enforcement Directorate.

Sources verified to The Indian Express that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has questioned top corporate executives on multiple occasions and has lately sent formal requests for corroborating information to foreign locations.

Over the past few weeks, Sivakumar Sundaram, Chairman, Executive Committee (CEC) of the company; and Himanshu Agarwal, its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), have been called in for questioning at the ED headquarters in New Delhi.

According to officials, nearly Rs 900 crore in financial transactions between BCCL and firms in the British Virgin Islands, a worldwide tax haven, are among those whose validity is being investigated (BVI).

According to The Indian Express, the current “inquiry” is being carried out for alleged transgressions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Meanwhile, agency representatives opted not to comment on the investigation. They also didn’t go into detail about other members of the media group who might be asked to testify as the investigation goes on.

According to the firm’s balance reports, MX Media Co Ltd, a company that was registered in the British Virgin Islands, is one of the Group entities.

In 2017–18 and 2018–19, this BVI entity’s status was listed as “subsidiary” firm, with the parent business owning 52.35 percent of the shares. This was upgraded to the status of a “associate” firm, and in the fiscal years 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, the equity of the parent company was diluted to 40.36 percent.

DISCLAIMER: The author is solely responsible for the views expressed in this article. The author carries the responsibility for citing and/or licensing of images utilized within the text.