India is conducting an inquiry into the business practices of local operations of Netflix, a U.S. streaming company. According to a government email sent to a former executive of Netflix, they are being investigated regarding allegations of racial discrimination visa and tax violations. The content of the email questions the company’s business ethics and opens the door for a wide range of investigations.
As reviewed by Reuters, the email detailing India’s investigation was written on 20th July to Nandini Mehta, a former employee of Netflix, by a home ministry official. She was the director of business and legal affairs for India in and worked in the company’s Mumbai and U.S. offices till 2020.
Contents of the Email investigating Netflix
“This is regarding visa and tax violations concerns regarding the business practices of Netflix in India,” wrote Indian official Deepak Yadav from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) of the home ministry in New Delhi.
“We have received certain details in this regard w.r.t. (with respect to) the stated company’s conduct, visa violation, illegal structures, tax evasion, and other malpractices, including incidents of racial discrimination that the company has been engaged in while conducting its business in India,” he added.
He hasn’t made any comments to the media, claiming he is not authorized to speak to the media. They have also asked Mehta for “details/documents” as she was a former legal executive of the company in the mail.
The company was “unaware of an investigation by the Indian government,” said a Netflix spokesperson.
Nandini Mehta is welcoming the Indian investigation and hopes the authorities make their findings public. Although she did not elaborate on the allegations made by the government, she also revealed in an emailed statement that she is pursuing a lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in California against Netflix for racial and gender discrimination along with her unfair termination since 2021.
Netflix denied all the accusations of Mehta in court and revealed in a statement that she was fired for repeatedly using her corporate credit card for tens of thousands of dollars in personal expenses. Mehta’s case is set for a status hearing on Monday in Los Angeles. She said she will “continue to fight for justice.”
