ED attaches over Rs 17 Cr of Amnesty International India under PMLA

New Delhi: Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Tuesday said that it has issued Provisional Attachment order under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) attaching bank accounts of international NGOs Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd.

(AIIPL) and Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) of Rs 17.66 Crores as both the entities have acquired the proceeds of crime and layered the same in the form of various movable properties.

ED initiated an investigation on the basis of FIR registered by Economic Offence Unit of CBI, New Delhi against the NGOs Indians for Amnesty International Trust, Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF), under section 120-B IPC, 1860 and under sections 11, 35 & 39 of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), Foreign Contributions Regulation Act, 2010.

The Amnesty International Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had been granted permission under the FCRA during 2011-12 for receiving foreign contributions from the Amnesty International UK", the probe agency said in a statement.However, the permission was cancelled on the basis of the adverse inputs received, the agency added.

“Since permission and registration has been denied to the said entity 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 activities in the guise of service export and FDI,” the ED said further in the statement.

During the probe, it was that upon cancellation of the FCRA licence by the Government, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust and Amnesty entities adopted a new method carried out NGO activities in the guise of service export and FDI.

“For export proceeds or advances for export of services to Amnesty International UK, there was no documentary proof for the alleged export such as invoices and copies of agreement between AIIPL and Amnesty International UK has been furnished by AIIPL to the Authorized Dealer (AD) Banks”, the ED alleged.

The probing agency further said “It is prima facie found that Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd. and others have obtained foreign remittances to the tune of Rs 51.72 Crores in the guise Export of services and Foreign Direct Investments from. Amnesty International (UK) whose source is the donations from the individual donors”.The total attachments in this case so far stand at Rs 19.54 Crores, the ED officials said.(UNI)