A day after penalising Amnesty India and its former chief executive officer Aakar Patel for violating the foreign exchange law, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a charge sheet against the international human rights organisation’s now defunct India arm for allegedly laundering money received from the UK, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.
Among those named under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) include Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and others.
ED had launched a probe against Amnesty in October 2018 on the basis of a case registered by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against AIIPL, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF), under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulation Act).
According to the ED, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had been granted permission under the FCRA, 2010 in 2011-12 for receiving foreign contribution from Amnesty International UK. However, the same was cancelled on the basis of the adverse inputs received. “Since permission has been denied on the basis of adverse inputs received from security agencies during the year 2011-12, AIIPL and IAIT were formed in the year 2013-14 and 2012-13 respectively to escape the FCRA route and carried out NGO (non-government organisation) activities in the guise of service export and FDI (Foreign Direct Investment),” it said.
It was revealed, ED has alleged, that upon cancellation of FCRA licence by the government of India, Amnesty adopted a new method to receive money from abroad and M/s Amnesty International, UK sent ₹51.72 crores to AIIPL in the guise of export of services and Foreign Direct Investment.
{{/usCountry}}It was revealed, ED has alleged, that upon cancellation of FCRA licence by the government of India, Amnesty adopted a new method to receive money from abroad and M/s Amnesty International, UK sent ₹51.72 crores to AIIPL in the guise of export of services and Foreign Direct Investment.
{{/usCountry}}“Further, for export proceeds/advances received for export of services to Amnesty International UK, there was no documentary proof for the alleged export such as invoices and copies of the agreement between M/s AIIPL and Amnesty International UK and the same has not been furnished by AIIPL to the Authorized Dealer (AD) banks,” ED said in a statement on Saturday.
“Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and others have committed scheduled offence by claiming to be carrying out “civil Society work”, however receiving forex in a profit making company, thereby mis-utilizing the FDI, which to amply proved by absence of any details/documents relating to exports made and layering of remittances received by AIIPL, a company into IAIT, a charitable Trust. In this case, both the entities have acquired proceeds of crime and layered the same in the form of various movable properties,” it added.
The central agency has already attached movable properties worth ₹19.54 Crore belonging to the charity.
On Friday, the ED levied a penalty of ₹51.72 crore on Amnesty and ₹10 crore on Aakar Patel for alleged contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) in the same probe.
Alleging witch-hunt by the government agencies, Amnesty decided to shut its India operations on September 29, 2020. The organisation had said at that time “the complete freezing of its India’s bank accounts have brought all the work to a grinding halt’. “The organisation has been compelled to let go of staff in India and pause all its ongoing campaign and research work. This is latest in the incessant witch-hunt of human rights organizations by the Government of India over unfounded and motivated allegations,” it had added. The organisation doesn’t have a spokesperson in India anymore to offer comments on ED charge sheet.