ED Attaches Amnesty India Assets Worth Rs 1.54 Crore Under PMLA

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 1.54 crore in bank accounts of Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

ED said in a statement on Friday that it had initiated money-laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and others under Section 120(B) IPC, 1860 and Sections 11, 35 & 39 of Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act (FCRA), 2010.

Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) had been granted permission under FCRA, 2010 during 2011-12 for receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK.

However, the same was cancelled and permission/registration was denied.

Then, M/s Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and M/s Indians Amnesty International Trust (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.

Investigation by ED revealed that after cancellation of FCRA Licence of M/s Amnesty International India Foundation Trust, Amnesty entities adopted a new method to receive money from abroad and Amnesty International UK sent Rs 51.72 crore to AIIPL in the guise of export of services and foreign direct investment. However, there was no documentary proof for the claimed export, like invoices and copies of the agreement submitted during investigation.

The total attachment in the case now stands at Rs 21.08 crore.