Who is Neville Roy Singham, US-based millionaire accused of pushing Chinese propaganda in India?

A US-based millionaire, Neville Roy Singham has been accused of funding a financial network to push Chinese talking points worldwide, as per a New York Times investigation.  He has been accused of helping China spread their word in various countries using different means. 

Who is Neville Roy Singham?

Singham is the founder and former chairman of ThoughtWorks, an IT consulting company. Neville was born to father Archibald Wickeramaraja Singham, a Sri Lankan political scientist and historian. Singham started his firm in Chicago and moved to Shanghai, where is based now.

NYT report has revealed that Singham used different means to push Chinese propaganda. It also revealed how China has been able to protect itself from international criticism for its human rights abuses.  The core strength of the network were four American non-profit groups which do not exist as legal entities but are instead tied to Singham's network through domain registration, said NYT. 

India Today reported that four non-profit organisations had no real-world footprints. “Their addresses were listed as UPS store mailboxes in Illinois, Wisconsin and New York.” If reports are to be believed the largest of the four nonprofits is run by Singham's wife Jodie Evans. 

When asked about the allegations by NYT, Singham did not offer substantive answers. “I categorically deny and repudiate any suggestion that I am a member of, work for, take orders from, or follow instructions of any political party or government or their representatives,” he wrote in an email. “I am solely guided by my beliefs, which are my long-held personal views.”

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