New Delhi: After getting a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted a nationwide operation at about 40 locations including Mysuru in connection with Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Act, (FCRA) 2020 violation.
A detailed note on 3 FCRA-clearance networks which are reportedly operating and have linkages with Government officials are charging speed money or problem resolution money. It has been decided, with the approval of the competent authority, that CBI should immediately investigate this matter for taking necessary action, read an official letter.
When the alleged violation was brought to the notice of Home Minister Amit Shah, the Union Minister immediately asked the CBI to take action into the matter. The operations are underway in Delhi, Rajasthan, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Mysuru, etc, to “nab representatives of NGOs, middlemen and public servants of MHA’s FCRA division who were facilitating illegal FCRA clearances in lieu of bribes.”
“CBI has apprehended some accused, including public servants, while bribes were being exchanged. Half a dozen public servants and others are being quizzed. These individuals were allegedly committing a violation of FCRA provision and facilitating illegal clearance of FCRA matters in exchange for bribes,” said a senior CBI official.
Ten people including six public servants are being questioned. During searches, transactions of Rs. 2 crore have been allegedly found which were routed through the hawala channel.
The FCRA division of MHA is responsible for granting permission to NGOs under FCRA to receive funds from abroad. This division is also responsible for the cancellation of the licences of the NGOs that violate the law. There are 16,890 NGOs registered with MHA and the registration over around 20,600 NGOs have been cancelled for various violations in the past decade. In March, the MHA had told the Parliament that it had rejected the renewal licences of 466 NGOs since 2020.
This post was published on May 11, 2022 6:44 pm