The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), the Indian government’s financial investigation agency, Saturday filed money laundering charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Amnesty India International Private Limited (AIIPL) and one of its trusts.

On Friday, the ED issued a notice imposing fines of INR 51.72 crores, or more than USD 6.5 million, and INR 10 crores, or more than USD 1.2 million, on AIIPL and its former CEO Aakar Patel, respectively, alleging violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

The ED alleges that Amnesty International UK remitted huge amounts in foreign contribution to Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) and other trusts, by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The ED stated that AIIPL circumvented the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to expand its NGO activities in India. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has not granted registration to AIIFT and other Amnesty International trusts in India under the FCRA.

According to the agency’s show-cause notice, AIIPL claimed that the funds received between November 2013 and June 2018 were for exporting “Business/Management Consultancy and Public Relation Services” to Amnesty International as a foreign beneficiary. The agency has rejected this claim, stating that Amnesty International “lent” the funds to AIIPL as inward remittances. The notice further alleges that AIIPL is involved in many activities unrelated to its declared commercial business. Therefore, the funds received by AIIPL violate regulation 2 of FEMA Regulations and circumvent the FCRA. FEMA is a civil regulation.

In September 2020, the ED directed various banks to completely freeze Amnesty International India’s bank accounts under the FCRA, resulting in the stoppage of the international NGO’s operations in India. In November that year, the Karnataka High Court passed an interim order allowing the organization to access its accounts to pay salaries and other expenses.

AIIPL has claimed that the ED’s money laundering allegations are “patently untrue” and called them “trumped-up charges under repressive laws.”

In October 2020, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet expressed concern over the use of the FCRA.