Days after the prosecution complaint was filed against Amnesty International India in a money laundering case, the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that Aakar Patel who was the director of Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), was also the Trustee of Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) from 2015 to 2019.
The report further revealed that the AIIPL and IAIT were both located on the same premises and were interrelated to each other in their function. According to the reports, the IAIT had complete authority over AIIPL from 15 July 2013 to 12 November 2014, sharing functionaries for the majority of the time since the formation of these two organizations.
#AmnestyExposed | Millions made claiming ‘human rights’? Tune in to watch as @shawansen breaks the exclusive story here – https://t.co/9RHwa2qvS7… pic.twitter.com/cXhuQjY63r
— Republic (@republic) July 11, 2022
The ED investigation into the so-called human rights organization began when the CBI filed a complaint against it for violating FCRA guidelines. The CBI had filed charges against AIIPL, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust, and others under Section 120(B) of the IPC, as well as Sections 11, 35, and 39 of the FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act), 2010.
Based on the CBI FIR, the ED filed a case and launched an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002. (PMLA). The ED discovered during its inquiry that Amnesty International India Foundation Trust was registered under FCRA to receive foreign money in 2011-12. However, the registration was eventually withdrawn due to negative feedback about the organization. That is when the organization began to allegedly circumvent Indian rules to acquire international contributions without approval.
According to the ED, once Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT)’s FCRA registration was canceled, they constructed profit-making entities to solicit foreign cash in the pursuit of export of services and FDI. To avoid the FCRA method, the group founded AIIPL and IAIT in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively, and obtained currency in the form of service export and FDI.
ED filed a prosecution complaint under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) against M/s. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), M/s. Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and others in a money laundering case of Rs.51.72 Crore.
— ED (@dir_ed) July 9, 2022
Amnesty International, UK reportedly contributed Rs 51.72 Crore to AIIPL in the guise of FDI and also as payment for the export of services under this new manner of accepting foreign funds even after the termination of the FCRA license. However, the organization could not provide any documentary evidence for the same. No invoices or documentation of agreements between the two parties were filed to the Authorised Dealer Banks for the so-called export of services to Amnesty UK. Similarly, the funds collected in the guise of FDI were utilized for Amnesty International’s standard “civil society activity.” As a result, the organization had breached standards by misusing FDI.
Exposing Amnesty, the ED has also provided a list of initiatives that appear to have been undertaken primarily for financial advantage. There were 47 projects mentioned, including ‘Access for Justice’ in Kashmir (GBP 46,867-Rs 44.5 lakhs), Human Cost of Coal Research Project (USD 90,000.00-Rs 71.5 lakhs), and Mobile Developing and field testing technology (CHF 80,000.00- Rs 64.8 lakhs).
“The scrutiny of the bank accounts maintained by M/s. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd & M/s Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), it appeared that M/s AIIPL was misusing the funds received in the guise of FDI for other activities viz; charity, contribution to fund such trusts, which was no way connected the activities for which the FDI had been received and getting contribution from the overseas donor to expand its NGO activities under the mask of service consultancy”, the chargesheet report read.
Hours after ED filed a prosecution complaint against Amnesty International India, the NGO in a series of tweets targeted the national agency and accused it of having violated the principles of natural justice. “The malicious intent of the Enforcement Directorate is evident from the fact that they have yet again issued multiple press releases even before legal notices have reached Amnesty India and Aakar Patel. This is a violation of the principles of natural justice”, it claimed. The NGO also claimed that the organization’s bank accounts had been frozen and that the case was based on the selective leak of information.
Since September 2020, the bank accounts of Amnesty International India remain frozen with no means to pay full dues to ex-employees or for the services of lawyers engaged to fight the multiple court cases initiated by the Government of India.
— Amnesty India (@AIIndia) July 9, 2022
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In October 2018, the central agency opened an investigation into Amnesty International based on a case registered by the CBI against AIIPL, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and FCRA (Foreign Contributions Regulation Act).
