The special cell of the Delhi Police has arrested two government officials, including one posted in the Foreigners Division of the ministry of home affairs (MHA), for allegedly seeking bribes from an association to facilitate a pending registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), according to a government statement released on Tuesday.
The second accused is currently posted in MHA’s Pay and Accounts Office.Police are probing their role in clearing similar FCRA registrations in the past.
According to a spokesperson, the arrests were made on Monday after a tip off by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) about the two men who were allegedly taking bribes to get FCRA registrations cleared.
“The officials, one working as a senior accountant and the other as an accountant, had allegedly approached an association and sought illegal gratification to facilitate its pending FCRA registration. While one of the officials is presently posted in the MHA’s Foreigners Division, the other is currently posted in a Pay and Accounts Office and had previously served in the Foreigners Division,” the spokesperson said.
FCRA is the law that governs how Indian individuals, associations, NGOs, trusts and companies may receive and use money, securities or articles sent to them from a source outside India. It is administered by the MHA. It identifies who may accept foreign contributions, and on what conditions. It specifies how that money must be received, accounted for, and reported.
{{/usCountry}}FCRA is the law that governs how Indian individuals, associations, NGOs, trusts and companies may receive and use money, securities or articles sent to them from a source outside India. It is administered by the MHA. It identifies who may accept foreign contributions, and on what conditions. It specifies how that money must be received, accounted for, and reported.
{{/usCountry}}“Preliminary questioning indicates that the two officials were in contact with certain associations to facilitate their registration and renewal in exchange for illegal gratification,” the spokesperson added.
In a statement, the MHA reiterated all FCRA-related services are delivered online through the FCRA portal and that no intermediary, agent or individual is authorised to facilitate any such service.
FCRA was first enacted in 1976 in India to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions. As international engagement expanded and cross-border financial flows became more complex, Parliament enacted a newer version in 2010, replacing the earlier legislation with a modern regulatory framework. Since then, the framework has been strengthened through amendments in 2016, 2018 and 2020.
The home ministry has introduced the FCRA Bill, 2026 and the notified FCRA (Amendment) Rules, 2026 to further improve transparency, governance and regulatory clarity.
Earlier this month, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla constituted a 31-member joint committee of Parliament (JPC) to review the bill, after the proposal to send the controversial legislation to a parliamentary panel was accepted in the Lower House. On August 12, the Lok Sabha referred the FCRA amendment bill to a JPC for an extensive review after multiple stakeholders, including church bodies, objected to the legislation’s provisions that allowed a Centre-appointed authority to take over assets created through foreign donations if the organisation failed to retain its FCRA licence.
First introduced in the budget session but held back at the time, the bill triggered major controversy with the Opposition, several church delegations and three chief ministers of Christian-majority states raising concerns.
The amendments establish a designated authority for “a comprehensive framework for vesting, supervision, management and disposal of foreign contribution and assets, including provisional and permanent vesting.” A provision stated that the government can appoint a “designated authority” to take over, manage, or sell assets created from foreign funds by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose licence under FCRA was cancelled, suspended, or simply not renewed.
The bill plans to do away with section 15 of the current act that limits the scope of the authority to manage the activities of the organisation, utilise foreign contribution or dispose of the assets created out of it, in case adequate funds are not available for running such an activity.