India is investigating the business practices of US streaming giant Netflix’s local operations, including allegations of visa violations and racial discrimination, according to a government email sent to a former executive.
Details of India’s investigation were included in a July 20 email reviewed by Reuters, written by a Home Ministry official to Nandini Mehta, Netflix’s former director of business and legal affairs for India, who left the company in 2020.
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“This raises concerns about visa and tax violations with respect to Netflix’s business practices in India,” Deepak Yadav, an Indian official at the Home Ministry’s Foreign Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in New Delhi, wrote.
It said, “We have received certain details regarding the company’s conduct, visa violations, illegal structures, tax evasion and other misconduct including incidents of racial discrimination that the company has committed while carrying out its business in India.”
In an emailed statement, Mehta said he is taking legal action in the US against Netflix for alleged unfair dismissal, as well as racial and gender discrimination – allegations the company denies.
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Mehta said he welcomed the Indian investigation and expected authorities to make their findings public, but he 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 Reuters’ questions.
A Netflix spokesperson said the company was “not aware of the Indian government’s investigation.”
