ED to attach Amnesty International properties worth Rs 17.66 crore

Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued provisional attachment order to attach movable properties of Amnesty International India worth Rs 17.66 Crores. The attachment order, issued under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), is for attaching bank accounts of Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) as both the entities have allegedly acquired the 'proceeds of crime' and layered the same in the form of various movable properties.

ED initiated investigation against Amnesty International India, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) on the basis of FIR registered by CBI, EOU-IV, New Delhi under different sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act (FCRA), 2010.

Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had been granted permission under the FCRA during 2011-12 for receiving foreign contribution from Amnesty International UK.  However, the same was cancelled on the basis of the adverse inputs received. However, since permission/ registration has been denied to the said entity on the basis of adverse inputs received from security agencies during the year 2011-12, Amnesty International India and Indians Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) were formed in the year 2013-14 and 2012-13 respectively to allegedly escape the FCRA route and carried out NGO activities in the guise of service export and FDI.

It was found in the investigation that upon cancellation of FCRA licence to Amnesty International India Foundation Trust by the Government of India, Amnesty entities adopted a new method to receive money from abroad. For example, Amnesty International UK sent Rs. 51.72 crore to AIIPL in the guise of export of services and foreign direct investment. However, no documentary proof, such as invoices and copies of agreement for the export, was furnished by AIIPL to the authorised dealer banks.

The Enforcement Directorate found that Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and others had obtained foreign remittances to the tune of Rs 51.72 crore in the guise export of services and FDI from Amnesty International (UK), whose source of revenue is donations from individual donors. The total attachments in this case till date stands to Rs 19.54 crore.

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