What Is Backops Limited? Tracing The UK Firm That Has Resurfaced With Nishikant Dubey's Claims
What Is Backops Limited? Tracing The UK Firm That Has Resurfaced With Nishikant Dubey's Claims Curated By, Last Updated: July 29, 2026, 11:51 IST BJP
What Is Backops Limited? Tracing The UK Firm That Has Resurfaced With Nishikant Dubey's Claims Curated By, Last Updated: July 29, 2026, 11:51 IST BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that an Indian Member of Parliament was associated with the firm and failed to disclose it in an election affidavit. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. (Sansad TV) A little-known UK company that first surfaced in public discussion more than two decades ago has once again become the centre of a political storm in India. Backops Limited, incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2003, is now back in the headlines after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that an Indian Member of Parliament was associated with the firm and failed to disclose it in an election affidavit. The controversy erupted after Dubey made a series of public statements and posts on X amid the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Addressing reporters in Delhi, he said: “There is an Indian MP who registered a company called BACKOPS Limited UK in 2003. Its registered address is 2 Frognal Way, London. It has two directors: Lovegrove and McKnight." He claimed that Brian Lovegrove is a director in more than 1,000 companies, while Ulrik McKnight is associated with around 256 companies, and alleged that nearly 60 companies are registered at the same London address. Dubey went further, alleging that some television channels operating from that address had “sensationalised developments in India" and supported what he described as “anti-national forces." He added: “I will raise all these matters in Parliament. Who is this MP? What is the relationship with Lovegrove and McKnight? What role does 2 Frognal Way play in the Tukde-Tukde Gang?" In subsequent X posts, he questioned why the alleged company link was not mentioned in an election affidavit and referred to other entities that had reportedly operated from the same address, including Asia TV Ltd, which he said was linked to Ajitabh Bachchan.
While Dubey has not publicly named the MP in these statements, the renewed attention has brought Backops Limited’s long political history back into focus. The Beginning: 2003 Backops Limited was incorporated in the United Kingdom in 2003. The company became politically relevant because official records – and later media reports – linked it to Rahul Gandhi during the early years of his business career. According to the official Congress website, after working at the London-based consulting firm Monitor Group, Rahul Gandhi returned to India and “set up a technology outsourcing firm – Backops Services Private Ltd. in Mumbai, where he served as a director." This establishes a publicly acknowledged association with the Indian company Backops Services Pvt Ltd, though the current controversy concerns the UK entity. 2004: When Rahul Gandhi Declared Backops Shares When Rahul Gandhi first contested the Lok Sabha election in 2004, he disclosed holdings connected to Backops, Mumbai. A report from The Economic Times, dated November 17, 2015, noted that he had declared shares in Backops Limited in his election affidavit, a fact that later became central to the debate over whether the company had been concealed from public disclosure. The report states that in a separate column in the affidavit titled “other assets, such as values of claims/interests", the affidavit added “properties of Backops Limited, Europe accounts nos. HSBC-UK Account number 58332832 with a balance of 18600.oo US $". The Citizenship Controversy Backops drew national attention again in 2015. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy cited UK company documents that allegedly described Rahul Gandhi as a British citizen. The issue triggered a major political storm. Subsequently, a UK government department indicated that the description could have been an error, and the matter did not lead to any official finding that Rahul Gandhi had acquired British citizenship. The episode nevertheless ensured that Backops became associated not only with business disclosures but also with questions about citizenship and transparency.
The BriefWire