Amnesty International, C&SN and HRW accuse Indian government of harassing human rights activists and NGOs; the organisations seek FATF’s intervention days before the India’s performance with respect to action taken against money laundering and terrorist funding is up for review
On 6 November 2023, The Hindu newspaper (TH) reports that NGOs are accusing the Indian government of prosecuting, intimidating, and harassing human rights defenders, activists, and non-profit organisations on the pretext of countering terrorist financing, Thus Amnesty International, Charity & Security Network (C&SN), and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have sought the intervention of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
FATF mutual evaluations are in-depth country reports analysing the implementation and effectiveness of measures to combat money laundering, terrorist and proliferation financing. The reports are peer reviews, where members from different countries assess another country. Mutual evaluations provide an in-depth description and analysis of a country’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system, as well as focused recommendations to further strengthen its system. During a mutual evaluation, the assessed country must demonstrate that it has an effective framework to protect the financial system from abuse.
The FATF conducts peer reviews of each member on an ongoing basis to assess levels of implementation of the FATF Recommendations, providing an in-depth description and analysis of each country’s system for preventing criminal abuse of the financial system.
The joint statement of the 3 NGOs came on November 3, days before the start of FATF’s periodic review of India’s performance with respect to the action taken against money laundering and terrorist funding. They have accused the authorities of exploiting FATF’s recommendations “to restrict civic space and stifle the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly”. “Draconian laws introduced or adapted to this end include the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)…,” the groups said. See also: https://wordpress.com/post/humanrightsdefenders.blog/22074
“During its third FATF review, in 2010, the Indian government itself recognised the risk posed by the non-profit sector as ‘low’. However, since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, the authorities have used overbroad provisions in domestic law to silence critics and shut down their operations, including by cancelling their foreign funding licences and prosecuting them using counterterrorism law and financial regulations,” the groups alleged.
https://www.fatf-gafi.org/en/topics/mutual-evaluations.html
