New Delhi: An adjudicating authority, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, has imposed a cumulative penalty of Rs 184 crore on PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, which owns the news website newsclick.in, and its director, Prabir Purkayastha, for alleged violations of foreign exchange transaction norms, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said Monday.
“We have not yet received the order and have learnt of its existence through the press release and news reports. At this stage, therefore, I can only say that we believe there is no basis for such an order and will fight it legally,” Purkayastha told ThePrint Monday.
An agency spokesperson said the authority, in its order issued Monday, found “substantial, deliberate and systemic” violations of the Act.
The Special Director of Enforcement, the adjudicating authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), has passed an order-in-original dated 16 February 2026 in an adjudication concerning M/s PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd, an agency spokesperson said. “The proceedings relate to alleged violations of foreign exchange law involving foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign inward remittances,” the spokesperson added.
Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of NewsClick, has faced criminal cases registered by the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing and Special Cell, and is also under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on charges of violating the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
The adjudication arose from a complaint filed under section 16 of FEMA by the agency, which alleges that the company received FDI of approximately Rs 9.59 crore in the financial year 2018–19 through misrepresentation of its business in statutory filings. Through these misrepresentations, the firm is said to have circumvented prescribed sectoral conditions and entry-route requirements under FEMA, the spokesperson said, citing the adjudication order.
The adjudicating authority also observed foreign inward remittances totalling Rs 82.63 crore between 2018 and 2024 recorded as payments for exports of services, which it said contravened FEMA provisions. The firm failed to comply with mandatory reporting requirements, including submission of Software Export Declaration (SOFTEX) forms, an RBI-regulated document used to declare foreign exchange earnings from IT service exports.
“The transactions were deliberately structured in a manner that defeated the objectives of the foreign-exchange regulatory framework,” the spokesperson said, citing the adjudication order.
“Prabir Purkayastha, the director of the company, was found to be in charge of and responsible for the conduct of business at the relevant time and was therefore held liable under section 42 of FEMA,” the spokesperson added.
An adjudicating authority under FEMA is an officer of the Enforcement Directorate appointed to scrutinise allegations of foreign-exchange violations by firms and their management.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
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