The Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) adjudicating authority on Monday passed an order imposing a penalty of Rs 184 crore on news portal NewsClick and its promoter Prabir Purkayastha.According to sources, the adjudication order states that the company owning the portal — PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt Ltd — has been penalised Rs 120 crore, while Purkayastha faces a separate penalty of Rs 64 crore for alleged violations.The penalty has been imposed on the news portal and its owner for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law involving foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign inward remittances. The adjudication proceedings arose from a complaint under Section 16 of FEMA filed by the ED alleging contravention of FEMA and the rules and regulations made thereunder in connection with the receipt and utilisation of foreign funds.The adjudicating authority, after a detailed examination of the records, evidence and submissions of the notices, held that FDI amounting to approximately Rs 9.59 crore was received during 2018-19 by misrepresenting the nature of business activity in statutory filings, thereby bypassing the prescribed sectoral conditions and entry route requirements under FEMA.It further noted that foreign inward remittances aggregating Rs 82.63 crore, purportedly received between 2018-19 and 2023-24 towards export of services, were found to be in contravention of FEMA provisions due to misclassification of exports and failure to comply with the mandatory reporting requirements.The transactions were deliberately structured in a manner that defeated the objectives of the foreign exchange regulatory framework, it was further discovered after the probe.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 sources said.The adjudicating authority observed that the contravention was substantial, deliberate and systemic in nature, involving large-scale foreign exchange transactions and breach of statutory declarations furnished to the regulatory authorities. Therefore, in exercise of powers under Section 13(1) of FEMA, a penalty of Rs 120 crore was imposed on M/s PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt Ltd and Rs 64 crore on Prabir Purkayastha.