Aakar Patel, Former Executive Director of Amnesty International India (image-X/tigerAkD)
Bengaluru, Karnataka: The Karnataka High Court on Monday stayed a money laundering case against Amnesty International India and its former executive director Aakar Patel, in a significant development in the ongoing legal battle involving the now-defunct human rights organisation.
Justice Hemant Chandangoudar granted interim relief while issuing a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had filed the case in 2022. The court cited similar relief granted to former Amnesty India CEO G Ananthapadmanabhan by another bench.
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The petitioners – Amnesty International India, Patel, and Ananthapadmanabhan – have sought to quash the money laundering case, which stems from a 2019 complaint by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The trial is currently pending before a Bengaluru court.
The Money Laundering Case
The ED accused Amnesty International India of laundering Rs 51.72 crore, allegedly sent from Amnesty International-UK through Indian entities via the foreign direct investment (FDI) route to evade the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The agency claimed these funds were used to expand the organisation’s operations in India, despite the Ministry of Home Affairs denying the organisation permission under the FCRA.
According to the ED, Amnesty International India’s activities were unrelated to any declared commercial enterprise and that its operating model served as a cover to channel foreign funds into the country under the guise of legitimate business.
The CBI, in its own case, alleged that the Amnesty International India Foundation Trust was initially permitted in 2011–12 to receive foreign funds but had its FCRA license revoked after adverse inputs from security agencies. The agency further claimed that new entities – the Indians for Amnesty International Trust and Amnesty International India Pvt. Ltd. – were established in 2012–13 and 2013–14 to bypass the FCRA restrictions.
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In September 2020, Amnesty International India shut down its operations in the country after the Indian government froze its bank accounts. At the time, the organisation accused the government of targeting it for highlighting alleged the “government’s grave inactions and excess”, describing the legal actions as a crackdown on dissent.
The central government had countered Amnesty’s claims, calling them exaggerated and “far from the truth.” It accused the organisation of violating Indian laws and misusing its humanitarian image to deflect scrutiny of financial irregularities.
