ED attaches assets worth Rs 1.54 crore belonging to Amnesty International Trust under PMLA
Oct 07, 2022
New Delhi [India], October 7 : Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday, has provisionally attached assets worth Rs. 1.54 Crore in bank accounts of Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by CBI, EOU-IV, New Delhi against M/s. Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd. (AIIPL) and others under Section 120(B) IPC, 1860 and Sections 11, 35, and 39 of the Foreign Contributions Regulatory Act, 2010.
The investigation by ED revealed that upon cancellation of FCRA Licence of M/s. Amnesty International India Foundation Trust, a new method was adopted by Amnesty entities to receive money from abroad, that, M/s. Amnesty International, U.K. 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 alleged export such as invoices and copies of the agreement submitted during the investigation.
It was later found that Amnesty International (UK) invested in Amnesty International India Pvt. Ltd (AIIPL) in form of "Compulsory Convertible Debentures". Subsequently, another Indian entity, Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) established an overdraft facility for Rs. 14.25 Crore keeping the Rs.10.00 Crore FD of AIIPL as collateral.
The overdraft facility was used by IAIT for Amnesty India's NGO activities including salary and administrative and operational expenses. Therefore, the FDI received by AIIPL are being used by the Indians for Amnesty International Trust, Bengaluru to carry out its NGO activities. It is seen that there is a layering of remittances received by AIIPL, a company into M/s IAIT, a charitable trust.
