The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday carried out a major operation to investigate collusion between government officials and representatives of non-governmental organisations for “illegal clearance” of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licences in lieu of bribes.
People familiar with the development said searches are being conducted at 40 locations in several places including Delhi, Chennai, Mysore, Coimbatore and Rajasthan to nab representatives of non-government organisations (NGOs), middlemen and public servants including officials of FCRA division of MHA among others.
The action is being taken on a tip-off from the Union home ministry, which grants licences to NGOs to receive foreign funding. It is alleged that certain public servants in FCRA division, in connivance with NGOs, were facilitating illegal clearances of licences, which allow them to receive and use funding received from foreign donors, in lieu of bribes.
Several individuals including half-a-dozen government officials are being questioned by CBI in this connection. The federal anti-corruption probe agency has also found hawala transactions worth ₹2 crore in two cases linked to FCRA licence renewal or fresh grant, said an officer, requesting anonymity. Since 2020, the union home ministry has refused to renew the foreign funding licence of 466 non-government organisations for not fulfilling the eligibility criteria in accordance with the provisions of the law, according to data tabled by the ministry in Parliament.
