Details of India’s investigation were included in a July 20 email, reviewed by Reuters, that was written by a Home Ministry official to Netflix’s former India business and legal director, Nandini Mehta, who left the company in 2020.
“These are concerns regarding visa and tax violations with respect to Netflix’s business practices in India,” wrote Indian official Deepak Yadav of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) of the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi.
“We have received certain details in this regard regarding the conduct of the above-mentioned company, visa violation, illegal structures, tax evasion and other malpractices including incidents of racial discrimination that the company has been involved in while conducting its business in India,” he added.
In an emailed statement, Mehta said she is filing a lawsuit in the United States against Netflix for alleged wrongful termination as well as racial and gender discrimination, charges the company denies.
Mehta said he welcomed the Indian investigation and hoped authorities would make their findings public, but did not elaborate on the allegations made by the government. Yadav declined to comment, saying he was not authorised to speak to the media. The FRRO and India’s home ministry did not respond to queries from Reuters. A Netflix spokesman said the company was “not aware of an investigation by the Indian government.”
The Indian official’s email shows growing scrutiny of Netflix in India, where it has about 10 million users and which it sees as a growing market where companies target wealthy individuals in the nation of 1.4 billion people.
Over the years, the American streaming giant has developed more local content featuring Bollywood actors.
It has also come under fire in India for its content, which some users consider insensitive. This month, it was forced to add new warnings to an Indian series about a plane hijacking following outrage on social media and government anger over what it claimed were Muslim hijackers posing as Hindus.
SEARCHING FOR DOCUMENTS, LAWSUIT IN THE U.S.
While Netflix is known to be facing an Indian tax lawsuit (which it is contesting) since 2023, there has been no prior reporting of a broader investigation into allegations including visa enforcement and racial discrimination.
The Indian government email did not detail which agencies are investigating the Netflix-related issues. The FRRO works closely with the Home Ministry’s Intelligence Bureau, the national intelligence agency, and is the lead agency tasked with checking foreigners’ compliance with visa requirements and permits to visit so-called “sensitive” regions.
Last year, India accused Chinese smartphone company Vivo and its Indian subsidiaries of violating visa rules by visiting certain “sensitive” regions without permission. India classifies parts of certain states, such as Jammu and Kashmir in the north and Sikkim in the east, as restricted zones.
The FRRO also acts as a liaison on matters relating to foreigners with other government offices.
Mehta worked at the company’s Los Angeles and Mumbai offices from April 2018 to April 2020, his LinkedIn profile shows.
The email from the Indian government asked her to provide “details/documents” as she was a former legal executive of the company.
In 2021, Mehta sued Netflix in Los Angeles County Superior Court in California for alleged wrongful termination and racial and gender discrimination, among other things, US court documents show.
Netflix has denied “each and every one of the allegations” in a US court, saying in its statement that Mehta was fired for repeatedly using its corporate credit card to pay tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses.
Mehta said he would “continue to fight for justice.” His case is scheduled for a hearing on Monday in Los Angeles.
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