Aakar Patel did not respond to messages seeking comment, but he tweeted from an unverified handle, “The ED is the govt, not the judiciary. we will fight it (again) and win (again) in court.’’
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday levied a penalty on Amnesty India International Private Limited (AIIPL) and its former CEO Aakar Patel for alleged violations of the country’s foreign exchange law, the probe agency said in a statement.
The agency’s adjudicating authority has ordered AIIPL to pay a penalty of ₹51.72 crores and Patel has been asked to pay ₹10 crores for alleged contraventions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
The ED statement further said, “The Adjudicating Authority of Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has adjudicated a Show Cause Notice issued to M/s Amnesty India International Pvt. Ltd.(AIIPL) and its CEO Shri Aakar Patel for contravention of the provisions of The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and imposed penalty to the tune of Rs. 51.72 crores and ₹10 crores respectively,”
Aakar Patel did not respond to messages seeking comment, but he tweeted from an unverified handle, “The ED is the govt, not the judiciary. we will fight it (again) and win (again) in court.’’
The probe agency said that Amnesty International, headquartered in the UK, had been using the foreign direct investment (FDI) route to transfer foreign contributions “to the tune of ₹51,72,78,111.87” through its Indian entities that are not approved under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010.
The funds were transferred to “expand its NGO activities in India, despite the denial of prior registration or permissions to Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and other trusts under FCRA by Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt. of India”, the ED statement added.
In 2018, ED began conducting searches of properties of Amnesty India over allegations that AIIPL was formed to receive foreign funding, violating FCRA rules. In 2019, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case against the NGO alleging a violation of foreign exchange rules.
In April, Patel was, Patel was prevented from traveling to the US at Bengaluru International Airport due to a lookout circular issued by CBI. from traveling to the US at Bengaluru International Airport due to a lookout circular issued by the Central Bureau Of Investigation.
“I found out that I was on the lookout list only when I went to the airport. It happened after check-in, at immigration. We put our bags in and had to go through immigration,” Patel said in a series of tweets on April 6.
ED further said that funds received by Amnesty between November 2013 and June 2018 were claimed as the amount for “business/management consultancy and public relation services for export of services to the foreign beneficiary. However, the funds were found to be transferred from an overseas remitter, violating FEMA provisions.”
The investigating agency dismissed all submissions and contentions from the NGO citing their lack of “concrete evidence”. It further alleged that AIIPL has been evading FCRA scrutiny by routing their foreign funds “in the guise of business activities”.
The investigating agency dismissed all submissions and contentions from the NGO citing the lack of “concrete evidence”. It further alleged that AIIPL has been evading FCRA scrutiny by routing their foreign funds “in the guise of business activities”, the statement read.
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