The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered an alleged network that used public charitable trusts registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) and received funds from UK-based entities to facilitate the illegal infiltration of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals into India through the international border, as reported in Economic Times.
According to officials associated with the investigation, the ED found that funds were transferred to suspected individuals in small tranches of ₹6,000, ₹8,000 and ₹10,000 to help infiltrators settle in India. The agency alleged that the laundered funds were ultimately utilised for the economic rehabilitation of illegal immigrants with the objective of helping them establish a permanent presence in the country.
The ED further alleged that the syndicate was actively involved in infiltrating Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals into India, arranging their permanent illegal rehabilitation and facilitating forged Indian identity documents, including Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and passports.
Investigators also alleged that one group operating in the border districts of West Bengal was responsible for facilitating the infiltration of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals into India. Another group allegedly handled the preparation of forged identity documents before the infiltrators were sent to different parts of the country in search of livelihood or for other purposes.
According to officials, the network also arranged long-term financial support for the infiltrators. They alleged that charitable trusts provided money directly or made alternative arrangements such as e-rickshaws, employment opportunities or cash assistance to generate a permanent source of income.
The revelations emerged as the ED’s Lucknow Zonal Office conducted searches at 13 locations across five states on Thursday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The searches covered premises in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Murshidabad in West Bengal, Ballabhgarh in Haryana’s Faridabad district, Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, Delhi, Maharashtra’s Raigad district and other locations.
According to the ED, search operations began early in the morning in coordination with state police forces. During the raids, investigators examined digital devices, seized incriminating documents and recorded statements from key individuals connected to the case.
Among the institutions searched were Sun Shine Health and Social Welfare Society in Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar, Kabirbag Millat Academy in North 24 Parganas, and Harora Al-Jamiatul Islamia Darul Uloom in Saharanpur. Searches were also carried out at the premises of several individual suspects in connection with ECIR No. ECIR/LKZO/14/2024.
Officials said the money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), which alleged the existence of an organised syndicate involved in facilitating the illegal infiltration of Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals into India, arranging forged Indian identity documents and assisting their rehabilitation across different parts of the country.
According to officials familiar with the investigation, the predicate investigation uncovered an extensive financial network involving certain charitable trusts and entities that allegedly received substantial foreign contributions and diverted those funds through multiple bank accounts, mule accounts and layered financial transactions to facilitate illegal activities.
The ED investigation has also indicated the use of cash withdrawals and small-value bank transfers to suspected beneficiaries as part of the alleged financial network.
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