BENGALURU: The Bengaluru office of Amnesty International — a human rights NGO — was raided by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Wednesday. According to a release, the raids were conducted on Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) for alleged violation in FDI norms. The raids on Amnesty offices located in Indiranagar began reportedly at around 2 pm.
After Amnesty was denied permission and registration by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Amnesty “resorted to bypass the FCRA Act by floating a commercial entity in the name of AIIPL. This entity has received foreign funds through commercial route to the extent of Rs 36 crore till date,” the release said.
Of the amount received, the ED release noted, that Rs 10 crore was received as long-term loans and was immediately placed in FDs. At the same time, Indians for Amnesty International Trust had “established an overdraft facility for Rs 14.25 crore keeping the said Rs 10 crore FD as collateral. The remaining Rs 26 crore was received in two other bank accounts of AIIPL as consultancy services. The inward remittances received by AIIPL from overseas is in violation of FDI guidelines,” it said.