ED attaches Rs 1.54 crore assets in money laundering case against Amnesty
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 1.54 crore belonging to Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) in connection with its money laundering probe into the finances of Amnesty International and its related entities. The assets are in the form of deposits in bank accounts.
The ED case is based on a CBI FIR against Amnesty for alleged violation of the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act (FCRA), 2010. “In this case, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had been granted permission under the FCRA during 2011-12 for receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK. However, the same was cancelled and permission/registration has been denied. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and IAIT were formed in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively, to escape the FCRA route and carried out NGO activities in the guise of service export and FDI,” the ED said in a statement.
According to ED, its probe revealed that upon cancellation of FCRA licence of AIIFT, a new method was adopted by Amnesty entities to receive money from abroad. Amnesty International, UK, allegedly sent Rs 51.72 crore to AIIPL in the guise of Export of Services and Foreign Direct Investment. ED alleged there was no documentary proof for the alleged export such as invoices and copies of the agreement submitted during the investigation.
“It is prima facie found that Amnesty International, UK, invested in AIIPL in the form of ‘Compulsory Convertible Debentures’. Subsequently, another Indian entity, IAIT established an overdraft facility for Rs 14.25 crore keeping the Rs 10 crore FD of AIIPL as collateral. The overdraft facility was used by IAIT for Amnesty India’s NGO activities. Therefore, the FDI received by AIIPL are being used by the Indians for Amnesty International Trust, Bengaluru, to carry out its NGO activities…,” the ED said.
