India has fined the local arm of Amnesty International nearly US$8 million after a probe into its finances the watchdog said was part of a “witch hunt", APA reports citing Associated Press.
Amnesty’s local bank accounts were frozen in 2020 as part of the probe, forcing the group to lay off staff and halt campaign and research work.
India’s Enforcement Directorate, the agency responsible for investigating financial crimes, said Friday that Amnesty had broken foreign funding laws by directing overseas contributions to expand its local operations.
In a statement, it said Amnesty India had been fined US$6.5 million for receiving illegal foreign contributions, while its former chief executive Aakar Patel was fined an additional US$1.3 million.
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