· The Department of Revenue has received a reference from the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) unit of the Central government, seeking a probe to determine whether the Indian entities linked to Amnesty International-UK violated foreign exchange rules.
· The Enforcement Directorate is looking into the issue that pertains to the FCRA unit’s suspicion that Amnesty International-UK and other some entities based in the U.K. have infused funds into Amnesty (India) allegedly through commercial channels, in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules.
· The amount involved is more than Rs. 36 crore.
· The funds under scrutiny were allegedly received between May 2014 and August 2016 through four Indian entities registered as companies and trusts in Delhi and Bengaluru, via the FDI route, to expand its NGO activities in India.
· The entities identified by the unit were :
1. Amnesty International India Private Limited,
2. Amnesty International South Asia Foundation,
3. Indians For Amnesty International Trust and
4. Amnesty International (India) Foundation.
· The funds were received for the purpose of consultancy services, advance income, and also through the automatic route.
Source : The Hindu