ED chargesheet reveals Amnesty may have taken foreign funds without permission under guise of FDI through dubious front: Report

Days after the prosecution complaint was filed against Amnesty International India in a money laundering case, the charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate revealed that Aakar Patel who was the director of Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd, was also the Trustee of Indians for Amnesty International Trust from 2015 to 2019. The CBI had filed charges against AIIPL, IAIT, Amnesty International India Foundation Trust, and others under Section 120 of the IPC, as well as Sections 11, 35, and 39 of the FCRA, 2010. According to the ED, once Amnesty International India Foundation Trust ’s FCRA registration was canceled, they constructed profit-making entities to solicit foreign cash in the pursuit of export of services and FDI. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd & M/s Indians for Amnesty International Trust, 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. 4/5 — Amnesty India July 9, 2022 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, and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation under Section 120-B and FCRA.