New Delhi:
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a raid on premises of Amnesty International Group in Bengaluru in connection with violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The raids on human rights organization premises in Bengaluru comes weeks after the Enforcement Directorate issued a show-cause to it for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law to the tune of over Rs 51 crore, officials said on Thursday,
ED had said the notice was issued, after completion of the probe, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Karnataka: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team is conducting a raid on Amensty International Group in Bengaluru, in connection with violation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). pic.twitter.com/NgANsQEm9V
— ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2019
Reacting to it, Amnesty Indian in a statement said that a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India.
“Amnesty India stands in full compliance with Indian and international law. Our work in India, as elsewhere, is to uphold and fight for universal human rights. These are the same values that are enshrined in the Indian Constitution and flow from a long and rich Indian tradition of pluralism, tolerance, and dissent,” the statement reads.
The notice was issued by the Adjudicating Authority of the FEMA which is a special director rank officer of the Enforcement Directorate, the officials said.
The alleged FEMA contravention is related to the borrowing and lending regulations to the tune of Rs 51.72 crore for rendering civil society activities in the country by getting remittances from its parent body, Amnesty International UK, in the garb of export of services, they said.
The central agency had last year conducted searches at the offices of the organisation in Bengaluru on charges of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
