The Enforcement Directorate may charge the Tibetan Buddhist leader, the Karmapa, for running a ‘hawala’, or illegal money transfer, racket in India.
The Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, may be charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, said Dharamsala police chief Santosh Patial.
He told HT that making and accepting foreign currency donations was not allowed without filing returns under the FEMA and FCRA. He said the Karmapa’s trust did not even have the permission under the FCRA to accept foreign donations.
On January 28, police raids on the Karmapa’s Gyutso monastery unearthed foreign currencies —including the Chinese yuans — worth about R 12 crore and triggered intense investigations into the establishment that the China-recognised 17th Karmapa runs.
What’s more, six more shady land deals struck by some of the closest aides of the Karmapa in Kangra, Solan and Dharamsala area have surfaced. Police sources said there might be similar deals in the northeast.