In a major nationwide crackdown on non-government organisations (NGOs) violating norms in receiving foreign grants, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday found Rs 2 crore in hawala transactions at 40 locations in Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur and Coimbatore, sources told CNN-News18. Over half a dozen Union Home Ministry officials, NGO representatives and middlemen were found involved in allegedly facilitating violations of rules under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. The CBI will be booking more individuals involved in the case later at night, sources said.
The CBI has arrested several government officials for allegedly taking bribes from NGOs through middlemen. The raids are still ongoing and several NGOs are under the scanner, sources said.
The raids by the central agency were conducted after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs raised suspicion of corruption in its foreign division department which deals with the FCRA clearance. The decision to alert the CBI regarding the matter was in line with the Modi government’s “zero tolerance for corruption” policy, officials said. This is the second such crackdown over corruption in the division in the last few years.
As per the complaint, bribes were paid to lower-level officials in the foreign division that deals with FCRA clearance. The middlemen took money from NGOs who were denied FCRA clearance and paid the government officials to provide them with the approved licence. So far, no senior officials were found linked with the case.
The agency is also probing a possible money laundering angle.
So far, the agency has apprehended around 14 persons including MHA officials and NGO representatives in connection with the case, officials told PTI. Six MHA officials are likely to be arrested, sources told News18.
NGOs Under Scanner
Sreejan Foundation in Jharkhand, Jahangirabad Educational Trust in Delhi, and Reformed Presbyterian Church in Manipur’s Churachandpur are some of the organisations that are in the dock for allegedly bribing MHA officials to get their FCRA license renewed, officials said.
The Srijan Foundation (SF), a Jharkhand-based NGO was “formed by a group of socially committed young professionals in 1995 and formally registered in 7th February 2001 under the Indian Trust Act 1882, according to its official website. “Since inception, SF has been working directly with the community, particularly with women and children, struggling with poverty, social exclusion and gender injustice,” it read.
The Jahangirabad Educational Trust was established in 2001 in Delhi “to support the cause of Technical and Professional Education with a focus isolated segments of society in general and minority community in particular,” its website stated.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church in Manipur’s Churachandpur on its site states it imparts “vocational training since 1979.”
CBI sources told News18 that the officials attached to these NGOs based in Ranchi, Bahraich and Manipur are being questioned.
Officials stated these NGOs claim foreign funds in the name of helping tribals and minority communities but were later found utilising the funds for other purposes, hence the FCRA applications were denied.
FCRA
All non-government organisations (NGOs) are mandatorily required to be registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act or FCRA to receive foreign funding.
According to the government’s FCRA guidelines, all registered organisations are required to submit an online annual report comprising of income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account, balance sheet, etc., for every financial year within nine months of the closure of the financial year.
Since 2020, over 16,895 organisations have registered in the country under FCRA. Over 466 NGOs have been refused FCRA licence of which 100 applications were in 2020, 341 in 2021 and 25 organisations till March 2022.
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