After Centre's request CBI books Oxfam India on FCRA breach
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New Delhi: Following a request from the Union government, the CBI registered a case of an alleged breach of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against NGO Oxfam India, IANS reported.
The Union Home Ministry had recently directed the CBI to probe the alleged foreign funding violations committed by the Indian arm of global NGO Oxfam after suspending its FCRA license.
Seven months back, the Income Tax Department carried out a search operation at the Oxfam India office.
"The I-T officials had learnt through emails that Oxfam India was trying to circumvent provisions of the FCRA. It planned to transfer funds to other entities registered under the FCRA," the source said.
Sources in the IT Department had claimed that tax evasions of crores of rupees in the guise of donations to political parties were detected by them.
The IT team had learnt from a report from the Election Commission that a few political parties were allegedly given donations through a data entry operator by flouting rules.
"This was basically fraud-cum-tax evasion which was done in the name of donations to political parties," an IT source had claimed at that time.
It had been found that Oxfam India had been continuously transferring foreign contributions to various other entities in violation of rules. The funds being transferred by Oxfam to the Centre for Policy Research was a violation of the FCRA, which prohibits such transfers after an amendment that came into force on September 29, 2020.