ED said that following the cancellation of the FCRA license by the Union government, Amnesty entities adopted “new methods” to receive money from abroad.
Amnesty International India Office in Bangalore. PTI
New Delhi: The Directorate of Enforcement said on Tuesday that it has seized more than 17 million rupees bank deposits in connection with its money laundering case against two entities of Amnesty International (India), the global human rights watchdog.
ED said that following the cancellation of the FCRA license by the Union government, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust and Amnesty entities adopted a “new method” to receive money from abroad.
The agency said in a statement that an interim order was issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) “attaching bank accounts of Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT).”
He said that “both entities have acquired the proceeds of crime and have stratified it in the form of various movable property. The order involves the seizure of movable property worth Rs 17.66 crore as proceeds of crime.”
This ED money laundering case is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR filed against AIIPL, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) that was filed under various Sections of the Foreign Tax Regulation Act (FCRA) and the Indian Penal Code (120-B denoting criminal conspiracy).
“Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had obtained permission under the FCRA during 2011-12 to receive foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK,” he said.
However, the statement said it was canceled based on the “adverse” inputs received.
“Given that permission / registration was denied to said entity based on adverse inputs received from security agencies during 2011-12, AIIPL and IAIT were formed in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively to escape from the FCRA route and carried out NGO activities under the guise of exporting services and FDI, ”the agency alleged.
An investigation found, the ED said, that following the cancellation of the FCRA license by the Union government, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust and Amnesty entities adopted a “new method” of receiving money from abroad.
The agency said Amnesty International, UK, sent Rs 51.72 crore to AIIPL under the guise of service export and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“For the export proceeds / advances to Amnesty International UK there was no documentary evidence, such as invoices and copies of the agreement between AIIPL and Amnesty International UK, which AIIPL has provided to the authorized dealer banks (AD).”
“It has been discovered prima facie that Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and others have obtained foreign remittances in the amount of 51.72 million rupees under the guise of exporting services and FDI from Amnesty International (UK), the source of which is the donations from individual donors “. claimed the ED.
The agency has previously attached some properties in this case and the total value of the embargo is now Rs 19.54 million.
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