BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court refused to quash the First Information Report (FIR) against six persons for allegedly being part of an Indian network for conspiring with the USA-based Christian missionary, The Timothy Initiative (TTI), and funding Rs 92.55 crore to Left Wing Extremists (LWE) in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
The case was registered by the Kothanur police in the city based on the information shared by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).
The FIR states that the accused withdrew cash through various ATMs across India using several debit cards issued by USA-based Trust Bank.
Justice M Nagaprasanna on Wednesday dismissed the petitions filed by Micah Mark (A-2), R Jonathan Sushil (A-1), Ajit Mathai (A-3), residing in the city, Varghese Chacko of Chhattisgarh (A-4), Bablu Kurmi of Assam (A-5) and Supreme Joy (A-6), residing in Mysuru.
The activities stated in the FIR attract offences not merely under economic statutes, but also under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), as the accused allegedly facilitate movement of foreign funds into Naxal-affected regions, thereby posing a threat to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and internal security of the nation, the court observed.
The accused challenged the FIR under the various provisions of the UAPA and BNS registered on June 11, 2026, based on the complaint filed by the ED under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, following the search conducted from April 18 to 19 for suspected violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
The search unearthed a network of financial operations linked to TTI. Between November 2025 and April 2026, Rs 92.55 crore were allegedly utilised in contravention of statutory regulations; between January 2024 and March 2026, withdrawals nearing Rs 44 crore were allegedly effected from states such as Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Assam, etc., using the international debit cards issued by the Trust Bank, which were issued under a deceptively generic name “Santhosh Kumar” and were coded region-wise as NE-1, NE-2, Southern Region-1.
Micah Mark, a key person in the financial operations of TTI in India, was intercepted at the Kempegowda International Airport on April 18 while allegedly found in possession of 24 international debit cards. It was found that over 1,000 such debit cards were issued across India over the past few years, and funds were withdrawn using those cards in LWE-affected regions, including Dhamtari and the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, which are naxalite-affected areas. After the search operation, the TTI Global portal www.ttiglobal.org also became inaccessible for Indian users, and the data maintained on the cloud has been deleted.
Ajit Mathai is alleged to have overseen the financial operations of TTI in India, while Jonathan is said to have supervised its overall operations. The remaining accused are alleged to have functioned as facilitators in ATM withdrawals and subsequent deployment of funds.
The counsels for the accused contended that proceedings initiated by the ED are in violation of the provisions of the PMLA, which do not empower it to communicate to any of the jurisdictional police for registration of a crime and the drastic and stringent provisions of UAPA are deliberately added.