The Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out searches at the head office of Amnesty International India in Bengaluru as part of an investigation into foreign funding for the human rights organisation.

In an official statement issued Thursday night, the ED accused the Amnesty International India Foundation Trust of trying to circumvent norms under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) after they were denied “permission/registration under FCRA 2010 by MHA” by creating a commercial entity called Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) to receive foreign funding.

According to the ED statement, the commercial entity of Amnesty International India allegedly “received foreign funds through (the) commercial route to the extent of Rs 36 crore till date”. Out of that, Rs 10 crore was received as a long term loan and placed in fixed deposits while another Indian entity Indians for Amnesty International Trust established an overdraft facility for Rs 14.25 crore with the Rs 10 crore as collateral, the ED alleged.

“The remaining Rs 26 crore was received in two separate bank accounts of AIIPL as consultancy services. The inward remittances received by AIIPL from overseas is in violation of FDI guidelines. In this, background searches were conducted at the Bengaluru office today and further investigation is in progress,” the ED statement claimed.