Today’s release of India’s Mutual Evaluation Report by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) overlooks critical aspects of the country’s misuse of its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) frameworks. While the report finds India “partially compliant” for its intensified crackdown on NGOs, it fails to recognize how its recommendations have been weaponized by India to suppress dissent and target activists, journalists, opposition politicians, and civil society organizations. These failures undermine the credibility of both India’s evaluation and of FATF as an independent body.
Instead of spotlighting these critical issues, FATF has placed India in the highest bracket of technical compliance. This is likely to further embolden the government to continue exploiting its legal system to attack human rights defenders and critical voices.
The report fails to consider:
- Growing threat of terror financing by Hindutva groups, despite substantial evidence presented to FATF during the review period.
- Money laundering by corporations, despite high profile exposes of significant financial misconduct, including by the Adani Group, as spotlighted by Hindenburg Research.
- Money laundering risks presented by India’s Electoral Bonds Scheme, which was active during the period of review. This is extraordinary because the Reserve Bank of India flagged the ML risks of the electoral finance scheme, and even the Supreme Court of India cited FATF recommendations when striking it down.
