CBI raids Amnesty India offices over ‘irregularities’ in foreign funding

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday conducted raids at premises of Amnesty International in Bengaluru and Delhi in connection with accusations that the non-profit organisation had received foreign funds in violation of the law.

The CBI said it has registered a case in connection with violation of Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Act against four Amnesty-related entities in India based on a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs and subsequently raided a total of four premises in the two cities.

According to a statement released by Amnesty, the raids were conducted at the offices of Amnesty International India Private Limited and Indians for Amnesty International Trust in Bengaluru. The statement added: “Over the past year, a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India.”

Most recently, the organisation had strongly condemned the CBI’S action against Indira Jaising, Anand Grover and

Lawyers Collective, which was part of a similar FCRA case registered against the legal services NGO.

CBI officials, however, allege that the FCRA was contravened by Amnesty International India Private Limited (AIIPL), Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation (AIIF) and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF), which allowed the accused organisation to bring in foreign funding from Amnesty International UK.

According to the MHA complaint, Amnesty India had received up to Rs 36 crore of foreign funding, of which Rs 10 crore came as FDI and Rs 26 crore was infused as “consultancy fees”.

In fact, AIIF’S FCRA license was revoked in 2010, following which the NGO came under the scanner when it was booked by the police for sedition during the JNU protests of 2016. Soon after this, the NGO had applied for another FCRA license, which was subsequently denied by the MHA.

The Enforcement Directorate, which is already probing Amnesty under the Foreign Exchange Management Act has previously said that because the organisation was not given an FCRA license, it had set-up AIIPL, through which funds from the UK were allegedly received.

But Amnesty said on Friday that Amnesty India stands in full compliance with Indian and international laws. “Our work in India, as elsewhere, is to uphold and fight for universal human rights. These are the same values that are enshrined in the Indian Constitution

and flow from a long and rich Indian tradition of pluralism, tolerance, and dissent,” the statement read.

The NGO added: “As part of the Nobel Prize-winning movement, Amnesty India holds itself to the highest evidentiary standards. Over four million Indians have supported Amnesty India’s work in the last six years and around 100,000 Indians have made financial contributions. Our work in India, as elsewhere, is to uphold universal human rights and build a global movement of people who take injustice personally.”