The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered FIR against NGO ‘Lawyers Collective’ and senior lawyer Anand Grover on charges of violating rules under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 on June 13.
The FIR has been registered based on a complaint by Ministry of Home Affairs against the NGO, whose founding members are senior lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, for alleged violation of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
The complaint mentions that the Mumbai-based NGO “received foreign contribution amounting to Rs 32.39 crore” during the period 2006-07 to 2014-15.
The CBI states that Grover used foreign contribution for personal benefits and spent it outside India which is a violation of FEMA.
The investigative agency said that senior lawyer Indira Jaising had received Rs 96.6 lakh remuneration from foreign contributions made to the NGO during her term as Additional Solicitor General (2009-14). The complaint also alleged that the expenses of her foreign trips as ASG were borne by the NGO without the Home Ministry’s prior approval.
In November 2016, the Home Ministry had cancelled the registration of Lawyers Collective under the FCRA. The NGO’s foreign funding licence had been suspended six months earlier.