TOI News Desk
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday wrote to the Union home ministry, stating that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) allegedly received foreign funds exceeding Rs 7 crore in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
The ED discovered this information during a money laundering investigation related to drugs, involving former Punjab AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and others, said several media reports.
The ED initiated the probe in 2021 and arrested Khaira, who has since joined the Congress.
In August last year, the agency sent a detailed communication to the Union home ministry, highlighting the alleged violations by AAP and categorising them as contraventions of the FCRA and The Representation of the People Act.
Recently, the ED shared additional information with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Media reports said the ED found that the AAP had received approximately Rs 7.08 crore in overseas donations to date. The agency alleged that the party “mis-declared and manipulated” the identities and nationalities of the foreign donors, as well as other details.
The ED provided the MHA with verified information about the donors, including their nationalities, passport numbers, donation amounts, mode of donation, bank account numbers, billing details, and payment gateway used.
The agency also reported that some fundraising events organised by the AAP’s overseas wing volunteers in the USA and Canada between 2015 and 2016 were allegedly conducted in violation of the FCRA.
In one specific instance, the ED claimed that the names and nationalities of some Canada-based individuals had been “concealed” in the party’s financial records to “hide” the foreign donations being made to the party’s Indian bank account.
A senior official stated that cases of FCRA violations are investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the home ministry can request the CBI to look into the charges made by the ED.
AAP leader Atishi hit back at ED’s allegations, and said that this was yet another ploy by the BJP.
“After the liquor scam and the Swati Maliwal case failed to bring down AAP, the BJP has concocted this case … this clearly shows the BJP is losing the 20 seats of Delhi and Punjab. This is not the ED’s action … but the BJP,” said Atishi.
The AAP leader said the ED’s charges over foreign funding stem from a case that is 11 years old. “This is a conspiracy by Modi to defame AAP,” Atishi added.
(With inputs from agencies)
The ED discovered this information during a money laundering investigation related to drugs, involving former Punjab AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and others, said several media reports.
The ED initiated the probe in 2021 and arrested Khaira, who has since joined the Congress.
In August last year, the agency sent a detailed communication to the Union home ministry, highlighting the alleged violations by AAP and categorising them as contraventions of the FCRA and The Representation of the People Act.
Recently, the ED shared additional information with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Media reports said the ED found that the AAP had received approximately Rs 7.08 crore in overseas donations to date. The agency alleged that the party “mis-declared and manipulated” the identities and nationalities of the foreign donors, as well as other details.
The ED provided the MHA with verified information about the donors, including their nationalities, passport numbers, donation amounts, mode of donation, bank account numbers, billing details, and payment gateway used.
The agency also reported that some fundraising events organised by the AAP’s overseas wing volunteers in the USA and Canada between 2015 and 2016 were allegedly conducted in violation of the FCRA.
In one specific instance, the ED claimed that the names and nationalities of some Canada-based individuals had been “concealed” in the party’s financial records to “hide” the foreign donations being made to the party’s Indian bank account.
A senior official stated that cases of FCRA violations are investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the home ministry can request the CBI to look into the charges made by the ED.
AAP leader Atishi hit back at ED’s allegations, and said that this was yet another ploy by the BJP.
“After the liquor scam and the Swati Maliwal case failed to bring down AAP, the BJP has concocted this case … this clearly shows the BJP is losing the 20 seats of Delhi and Punjab. This is not the ED’s action … but the BJP,” said Atishi.
The AAP leader said the ED’s charges over foreign funding stem from a case that is 11 years old. “This is a conspiracy by Modi to defame AAP,” Atishi added.
(With inputs from agencies)