AMNESTY INTL OFFICES RAIDED BY CBI OVER FOREIGN FUNDS

NEWDELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday raided human rights watchdog Amnesty International India’s offices in Bengaluru and Delhi after registering a case of alleged fund inflows worth ₹36 crore, without the mandatory permission under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), officials said.

A case was registered on November 5 against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), Indians For Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), M/s Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) and unknown others after receiving a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which regulates the foreign funding for NGOs, officials added.

CBI teams searched two Amnesty offices in Bengaluru and one in Delhi in an operation that went on for almost 10 hours.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had in October 2018 conducted searches at Amnesty’s Bengaluru office. At that time, the anti-money laundering agency had claimed that AIIFT was denied permission/registration under FCRA by the MHA, but it resorted to bypass FCRA by floating a commercial entity in the name of AIIPL. This entity, the ED had said, received ₹36 crore in foreign funds through the commercial route, out of which ₹10 crore was given as long-term loans.

In a statement on Friday, Amnesty said, “Over the past year, a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty International India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India. Amnesty International India stands in full compliance with Indian and international law. 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.”