NEW DELHI: Amnesty International has accused India of using anti-money laundering rules to shut civil society groups and suppress activists and critics, Western media reported on Wednesday.
Critics of the Indian government have long complained of harassment under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s extremist administration.
Indian exploiting FATF recommodifies: Amnesty
Amnesty said the recommendations of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) were being exploited to bring in draconian laws to block organizations from receiving foreign funding.
The 39-nation FATF is authorized to tackle global money laundering and terror financing.
Critics accuse that Modi’s extremist government has been trying to put pressure on rights groups by heavily scrutinizing their finances and suppressing foreign funding.
Amnesty International India chair Aakar Patel in a statement said under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the Indian government has used the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations to target and silence critics.
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The report said that in past 10 years, India has canceled the licenses of more than 20,600 non-governmental organizations.
Amnesty International had to halt its operations in Indian in 2020, after its bank accounts were frozen.
Journalists critical of Modi’s extremist government’s move also complain of harassment, both on social media and in the real world.
