ED penalises Amnesty India, Aakar Patel for FEMA violation

The money transferred to Indian entities without any permission under the FCRA was alleged to be used for expanding its activities in the country

The Amnesty India International Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and its former CEO Aakar Patel have been imposed a penalty of Rs 51.72 crore and Rs 10 crore respectively for violation of foreign exchange law, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday.

The action came as it came to light that Amnesty International, United Kingdom had been remitting huge amounts of foreign contribution through its Indian entities following the FDI route to evade provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the ED said.

The ED alleged that UK-based Amnesty International sent a huge amount of foreign contribution to AIIPL and others during November 2013 to June 2018, "in guise of business activities" and it was said to be used for expanding its activities in the country to avoid scrutiny under FCRA.

According to the ED, the authorities have denied prior registration or permission to Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and other trusts to collect foreign contributions under FCRA by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"The Adjudicating Authority of Enforcement Directorate has adjudicated a show cause notice issued to Amnesty India International Pvt. Ltd. Its CEO Aakar Patel for contravention of the FEMA and imposed penalty to the tune of Rs 51.72 crore and Rs 10 crore," ED said.

Earlier in October 2018, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted searches in Amnesty's Bengaluru office accusing it of receiving funds from Amnesty International, UK disguised as export of services.

In April this year, the Narendra Modi government had given sanction to the CBI to prosecute Amnesty International India (AII) and Patel in a case of alleged violation of FCRA. Amnesty had denied any wrongdoing.

The CBI had then claimed that the AII circumvented provisions of the FCRA and Indian Penal Code (IPC) by receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International, UK through Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) and three other companies or Trusts even though they do not have the licence to collect foreign funds.

Patel was recently stopped from flying out of Bengaluru at least twice on the basis of a Look Out Circular issued against him. He was leaving for the United States to deliver academic lectures.

The CBI had registered the case against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), Indians For Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) following a complaint filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

It claimed Amnesty's UK arm remitted Rs 10 crore to its Indian entities classified as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) without the government's approval. Another Rs 26 crore classified as consultancy services was also remitted primarily from UK-based entities without approval.