Hyderabad: ED raids OM Group of Charities in city

Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted search operations at 11 locations in and around Hyderabad under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with irregularities in the Operation Mobilization (OM) Group of Charities.

A press statement said that the ED initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Telangana CID against the OM Group and others for raising around Rs. 300 crore from foreign donors through Operation Mobilization and Dalit Freedom Network based in USA, Canada, UK, Australia, Argentina, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, Norway, Brazil, Czech Republic, France, Romania, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland.

The funds were raised in the name of providing free education and meals to Dalit and downtrodden children studying in more than 100 Good Shepherd Schools run by them.

The funds, according to the ED, were diverted for asset creation and other unauthorised purposes. The CID investigation revealed that suppressing the fact of sponsorship of students, tuition and other fees ranging from Rs.1,000 to 1,500 per month were collected from the students and substantial funds were put into fixed deposits and/or diverted to other related entities of the OM Group.

Funds were also received from the Government under the Right to Education Act but the same were not recorded properly and other incomes were grossly under-reported in the books of accounts.

Preliminary investigation by ED revealed several suspicious transactions indicating diversion of the funds of the OM Group of Charities and multiple immovable properties of the key office bearers of the group spread across Telangana, Goa, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The ED investigation also revealed that Foreign Contribution Registration Act (FCRA) registrations for most of the group entities were not renewed and to bypass the same, foreign funds received in FCRA registered as ‘OM Books Foundation’ were diverted to other group entities as loans which were yet to be repaid, the press release said.

PMLA investigation also revealed that office bearers of the Operation Mobilisation group were employed as consultants with shell entities incorporated in Goa and were receiving salaries.

Searches at the premises of key office bearers and head office of the OM group of charities resulted in recovery and seizure of incriminating documents, digital devices, records of clandestine transactions and benami companies.

In addition, several properties of the key functionaries of the OM Group, suspected to be acquired out of proceeds of crime, have been unearthed, the ED release said, adding that further investigation was under progress in the case.