The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court decision from 29th May this year, which quashed a police FIR and subsequent money-laundering proceedings against the Chinese-funded NewsClick over foreign funding violations.
In its appeal, the central agency contended that the High Court erroneously dismissed the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) without evaluating the core merits of the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED argued that the High Court misapplied the legal threshold governing the investigation stage by ruling that no incriminating material had surfaced, asserting that courts at this juncture are required solely to assess the allegations rather than determine final guilt or evidentiary sufficiency.
The agency further submitted that its investigation had been impeded by procedural constraints, pointing to a June 2021 interim order that barred coercive action against the respondents. According to the ED, its applications to vacate or clarify that stay remained pending for roughly three years, substantially restricting its ability to pursue a comprehensive inquiry.
Challenging the High Court’s conclusion that the record lacked incriminating material, the ED argued that significant evidence was disregarded. These discrepancies surround foreign inflows to PPK Newsclick Studio Private Limited, specifically a three-tranche $1.5 million investment agreement with Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, of which only a single tranche arrived via Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
It also included internal communications and financial records concerning the incorporation and operations of Worldwide Media Holdings LLC.
Addressing the High Court’s ruling that the allegations failed to substantiate offences of cheating and criminal conspiracy, the ED argued that the scope of cheating is not confined to cases involving direct property deprivation. Citing statutory definitions, the agency maintained that the offence also covers intentional inducement that causes or is likely to cause damage to a person’s body, mind, reputation, or property.
The ED also relied on Supreme Court precedents establishing that an initial police report or FIR is not intended to function as an “encyclopedia” of all facts, but only needs to disclose a reasonable basis to suspect the commission of an offence.
Finally, the agency submitted that the High Court exceeded its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by deciding disputed questions of fact during an ongoing inquiry. The ED stressed that an ECIR is merely an internal administrative document rather than a formal police report, and that quashing it should not automatically terminate a statutory money-laundering investigation.
NewsClick and funding by Neville Roy Singham
Neville Roy Singham’s Justice and Education Fund donated $10.5 million to Delhi-based pro-China propaganda outlet, NewsClick. Vijay Prashad has contributed several propaganda articles to NewsClick. Prashad is the nephew of Brinda Karat, a CPI(M) leader and wife of Prakash Karat, also a senior CPI(M) leader, whose email exchanges with Neville Roy Singham earlier revealed their close ties in the NewsClick Chinese funding scandal.
NewsClick first made headlines when it came under the radar of the Enforcement Directorate in 2021. The portal was reportedly accused of fraudulently receiving foreign funds amounting to around Rs. 38 crores. As a New York Times investigative report published in 2023 unravelled Roy Singham’s network’s alleged Chinese funding and propagandism, Vijay Prashad dubbed it “McCarthyism”.
Vijay Prashad has also been a council member of the Progressive International, an international organisation that mobilises leftist activists and groups globally. OpIndia earlier highlighted how this outfit persistently publishes propaganda articles and statements peddling the insidious Muslim victimhood narrative to slander the Modi government. The Progressive International hosts a dozen anti-India, particularly anti-Hindu propaganda pieces authored by notorious anti-Hindu and Islamic terror apologist elements like Harsh Mander. The Progressive International also has Islamo-leftist cheerleaders like Jayati Ghosh and former Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn as its council members.
Progressive International also has a Tides Foundation connection. The outfit has a pro-Hamas group, the Arab Resource and Organising Centre, as one of its members, which is sponsored by the Tides Foundation. Now, Tides Foundation has a Roy Singham-funded NewsClick connection.
Tides Foundation is notorious for funding several anti-Hindu, anti-India organisations and elements. The Foundation gave grants to Hindus for Human Rights (HfHR), which has links to Islamists and Khalistanis, and was formed in 2019 by two Islamist advocacy groups, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) athe nd Organisation for Minorities of India (OFMI).
Tides also funded AMAN Public Charitable Trust (AMAN). This trust is connected to the NewsClick-China funding scandal, where it is alleged that Chinese entities funded NewsClick to disrupt Indian sovereignty.
Among Indians introduced by Neville Roy Singham to his larger team, who worked with Tricontinental, one of the nonprofits that the New York Times said was involved in pushing Chinese talking points, were Prabir Purkayastha, Srujana, Prasanth, and Vijay Prashad.
Prashad also has close ties with Urban Naxal P Sainath, whose propaganda portal PARI recently removed references to Singham after his connection with the Chinese propaganda arm had come to light.
Newsclick’s anti-Hindu bias is not hidden. Moreover, Newsclick is also under scrutiny for its alleged connections with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 2023, an investigation by the New York Times uncovered an ecosystem of activist organisations, non-profits, shell corporations, and their intimate ties to China and Chinese propaganda, with Neville Roy Singham at its helm. A Delhi Police chargesheet filed in 2024 called the Chinese state the “ultimate paymaster”, with funds routed to stoke anti-India narratives, especially regarding Kashmir, and farmers’ protests. The case is ongoing in the court.
In 2021, OpIndia conducted a detailed investigation into the links of NewsClick and uncovered how it was linked to several individuals who regularly spew venom against India, from Urban Naxals to those like Teesta Setalvad, Abhisar Sharma and several others. That investigation by OpIndia can be read here.
