The Indian government is investigating Netflix’s Indian operations over alleged cases of visa violations, and more.
An email was sent to Netflix's former director of business and legal affairs for India, by an official from the FRRO.
This is also confirmed by Mehta, who issued a statement stating that she is pursuing a lawsuit in the U.S. against Netflix.
Netflix is one of the most popular streaming giants in India but it seems like it has found itself in the middle of a legal investigation in the country. The Indian government is investigating Netflix’s Indian operations over alleged cases of visa violations, tax evasion, and racial discrimination. A Reuters report reveals that an email was sent to Nandini Mehta, Netflix’s former director of business and legal affairs for India, by Deepak Yadav, an official from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) discussing this matter.
In the email, Deepak Yadav wrote, “This is regarding visa and tax violations concerns regarding the business practices of Netflix in India.” He further added, “We have received certain details in this regard w.r.t. the stated company’s conduct, visa violation, illegal structures, tax evasion, and other malpractices including incidents of racial discrimination that company has been engaged in while conducting its business in India.”
This is also confirmed by Mehta, who issued a statement stating that she is pursuing a lawsuit in the U.S. against Netflix for wrongful termination and racial and gender discrimination. She said, “I welcome the Indian government’s investigation and hope their findings are made public.” Netflix, on the other hand, has denied Mehta’s accusations about racial and gender discrimination at their company.
A Netflix spokesperson spoke to Reuters and said that the company was “unaware of any investigation by the Indian government.” Even the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs and the FRRO have not issued any statement on the same.
This comes at a time when Netflix is trying to increase its base in India. A couple of weeks back, Netflix faced backlashes in India for a web series related to a hijack which was being streamed on the platform. Let’s see how this investigation turns out as we await more details.
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