Rejoinder to report on ‘Spy links and a trail of dirty money’

A report titled ‘Spy links and a trail of dirty money’, published in The New Nation on September 7, 2026, referred to a number of allegations concerning businessman Anirudhha Kumar Roy.

Roy has strongly denied the allegations, which included alleged links with the Indian intelligence agency RAW, alleged loan irregularities involving Farmers Bank, financial dealings with former Chief Justice S K Sinha, and alleged concealment of Indian citizenship.

In a statement protesting the report, Roy described it as motivated and one-sided. He also said that The New Nation did not contact him before publication or seek his comments on the matters raised in the report.

The reporter who prepared
the report has disputed this account. According to the reporter, several attempts were made to contact Roy before publication, including phone calls to his mobile number and WhatsApp messages seeking his comments and response to the allegations.

At 5:42pm, the reporter called Roy and sent a text at 5:45pm identifying him. Nearly two hours later, at 7:36pm, the reporter sent another text.

The reporter said the calls were not answered and no response was received to the messages before publication.

The reporter therefore maintains that attempts were made to obtain Roy’s comment and that his claim that no effort was made to contact him does not reflect the newspaper’s account of events.

The New Nation recognises the importance of giving individuals an opportunity to respond to allegations concerning them and, where appropriate, to reflect such responses in its reports.

Roy’s denial and his protest have therefore been recorded above alongside the reporter’s account of the efforts made to seek his comment.