Govt Cancels Foreign Funding Licence Of Activist Sonam Wangchuk's NGO; Know Why

New Delhi: A day after four people were killed in violent protests in Ladakh over demands for statehood, the Central government cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of activist Sonam Wangchuk’s NGO – the Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL).

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday evening took action against SECMOL, citing multiple violations of the law governing foreign funding for non-governmental organisations.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had started probing alleged violation of FCRA against the Wangchuk-founded institute based in Ladakh, was issued a showcause notice on August 20 over allegations of financial misreporting, misuse of foreign contributions and activities deemed contrary to national interest. A reminder followed on September 10, again asking Wangchuk’s NGO to explain why its licence should not be cancelled.

After SECMOL responded on September 19, the Home ministry examined the reply and listed several violations.

The MHA flagged instances of non-compliance of the FCRA between 2020 and 2022, reported CNN-News18. In 2021-22, a deposit of Rs 3.5 lakh made by Wangchuk into SECMOL’s FCRA account was found to be in violation of Section 17 of the FCRA.

In 2020-21, three individuals were found to have deposited Rs 54,600 — domestic funds — into the FCRA account, again breaching Section 17 norms. SECMOL admitted it was a procedural error.

SECMOL also received Rs 4.93 lakh from Sweden-based Framtidsjorden Foundation for educational programmes, which MHA deemed to be against national interest, citing a violation of Section 124f(i) of the FCRA.

CBI probe a ‘witch hunt’

Wangchuk described CBI’s inquiry into alleged FCRA violations as a ‘witch-hunt’.

Wangchuk told ANI that his NGO did not receive foreign funding, and questioned the timing of the investigation. However, the CBI has said that the preliminary enquiry was initiated two months ago.