Amnesty India got foreign funds in FCRA violation

| | New Delhi
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Amnesty India got foreign funds in FCRA violation

Sunday, 17 November 2019 | Rakesh K Singh | New Delhi

Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), used commercial methods and circuitous funding, including funds receipt under the head of FDI, to circumvent the provisions of the FCRA after being prohibited from receiving such funding, sources said here on Saturday.

The revelation has come after scrutiny of the Amnesty account books by the agency investigators a day after it conducted searches at three locations in Bengaluru and the national Capital on the premises of  Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and Indians for Amnesty International Trust in Bengaluru for the violation of the FCRA. 

A number of Amnesty entities allegedly received foreign contribution amounting to `36 crore from Amnesty International UK  through Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd despite denial of permission to Amnesty’s trusts to receive foreign contribution by the foreigners division of the Union Home Ministry that oversees FCRA implementation, sources said.

Out of the `36 crore, Amnesty International UK invested Rs 10 crore as FDI in Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru, by subscribing to the latter’s debentures, sources said, adding the amount was utilized by Indians for Amnesty International Trust as security for obtaining overdraft from banks. This in turn was used by the trusts of Amnesty India for NGO activities, which is a contravention of the FCRA provisions, they said. 

Scrutiny of the account books of Amnesty has revealed that it indulged in activities that were both prohibited and regulated under the FCRA. Entries in Amnesty’s account books were not commensurate with the activities postulated for not-for-profit organizations under the Indian laws, the sources further said.

The CBI had registered a case on November 5 following a complaint from the Union Home Ministry against  Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL),  Indians For Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) and unknown others

These entities allegedly contravened the provision of the FCRA and the Indian Penal Code by receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK through AIIPL even though prior registration or permissions were denied to Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and other Trusts under FCRA.

Last week, the Home Ministry had barred over1,800 NGOs from receiving foreign contribution for not complying with the provisions of FCRA.

“Accumulated evidence, painstaking examination of background and intelligence reports on funding patterns show Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) turning into sleeper cells-working and plotting against the Government-in potential collusion with the foreign powers,” according to an intelligence dossier.

The dossier had flagged the tricky roles played by voluntary organisations such as IKV Pax Christi (Netherlands), Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and Compassion International (USA) in taking circuitous route for funding local NGOs in a bid to create and run sleeper cells for future onslaught against the Government.

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