Canada accuses Indian businessman of foreign interference, disinformation [Video]

A south Edmonton split-level with a brick facade and a spruce out front is the unlikely Canadian headquarters of the Indian conglomerate the Srivastava Group.

Run by a New Delhi family, the company claims to have offices in Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, where it owns newspaper and oil and gas businesses.

But Canadian national security officials have alleged the Srivastava Group and its senior executive have also been involved in more secretive activities.

According to public records released to Global News, in 2009 India’s intelligence agencies “tasked” the Srivastava Group’s vice chair to influence Canadian politicians.

Indian intelligence wanted Ankit Srivastava to identify “random Caucasian politicians and attempt to direct them into supporting issues that impacted India,” the Canadian Security Intelligence Service wrote.

Srivastava was told “to provide financial assistance and propaganda material to the politicians in order to exert influence over them,” CSIS added in the 2015 report.

In a subsequent report in 2021, CSIS wrote that Srivastava’s company …