CBI arrests 6 MHA Officials & 8 Others in FCRA Bribery Case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested 14 accused including 06 public servants and has recovered cash of Rs.3.21 crore(approx), several incriminating documents, mobile phones etc. during searches at the premises of accused at around 40 locations including in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Manipur etc.

On 10.05.2022, a case was filed against 36 accused, including 7 public servants of MHA & NIC’s FCRA Division and middlemen, representatives of various NGOs, on allegations that some FCRA Division officials, in collusion with promoters/representatives of various NGOs, middlemen, were engaging in corrupt activities to obtain backdoor FCRA registration/ renewal to NGOs illegally with the goal of continuing to receive donations despite not fulfilling the requirements. It was also claimed that some public servants were misrepresenting themselves as officers deployed in the FCRA Division and engaging in these actions as well as accepting bribes from NGOs in exchange for expediting their registration/renewal of registration under the FCRA and other FCRA-related tasks.

During the investigation, two suspects were apprehended while delivering and taking a Rs.4 lakh bribe on behalf of a Senior Accountant of the MHA in New Delhi. The bribe was allegedly delivered through a hawala operator and a close buddy of the public worker in Avadi (Tamil Nadu)

The apprehended defendants are being brought before the Competent Court. The probe is still ongoing.