A Bengaluru court has issued summons to Amnesty India officials and its former India CEO Aakar Patel after taking cognisance of a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed by Enforcement Directorate against them recently under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
After imposing a heavy penalty of £5.17 million on Amnesty India and £1 million on Aakar under FEMA, ED said it had filed charge sheet for alleged money laundering against them in Bengaluru court which has taken cognisance of the chargers and issued the summons. ED said “the said complaint (chargesheet) has been taken into cognisance by the special PMLA court and summons have been issued to all accused for their appearance before the court”.
The agency has slapped money laundering charges against Amnesty India, Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and others, including Aakar Patel. ED has alleged Amnesty and its officials of money laundering and also allegedly having received foreign funds despite government having revoked its FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act).
In 2011-12, Amnesty international India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) has been granted permission under FCRA for receiving foreign contributions from Amnesty International UK. The permission has been subsequently revoked on the basis of adverse inputs”. ED has claimed that “to escape the FCRA route, two new entities – Indians Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) and Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL) were formed in 2012-13 and 2013-14 respectively and received forex in the guise of service export and FDI.”
