A source told Reuters on Thursday that India’s financial crime-fighting agency is investigating the BBC’s foreign currency infractions months after tax investigators inspected its Mumbai and Delhi offices.
A BBC documentary detailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2002 Gujarat riot leadership preceded the February tax searches. Then, the rioting murdered 1,000 Muslims.
The ED is investigating under India’s Foreign Exchange Management Act. The source, who requested anonymity due to the delicacy of the topic, said the agency notified the BBC in March and questioned several staff this month.
Calls and texts to an ED representative went unanswered. Emails to the BBC went unanswered.
On its website, the ED investigates potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, a civil law, to “adjudicate and impose penalties” on guilty individuals.
In March, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly discussed BBC tax searches with his Indian colleague in New Delhi.
Protests outside the Indian High Commission in London last month strained relations between India and Britain, who are negotiating a delayed free-trade pact.
Following a “breach of security” at the High Commission, India requested tighter monitoring of UK-based Sikh separatists on Wednesday. This week, the British government announced it would “review security and make changes to ensure the safety of its staff.”
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