This report on the controversial Electoral Bond Scheme in India submitted by the Indian civil society actors to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), highlights significant concerns about money laundering that this scheme presents and also exposes India’s doublespeak on its commitment to combat money laundering. The report relies on official documents from the top financial and judicial institutions to show how this scheme facilitated money laundering, corruption, and foreign funding of political parties while lacking transparency. The bonds, introduced as a mechanism for anonymous political donations, create risks by concealing the identities of donors and recipients.
The findings of this report are in line with the findings of India’s top court the Supreme Court of India which found that the EBS enables anonymous and opaque donations that cannot be traced, increasing the potential for misuse by illicit actors. It is also in line with the concerns raised by India’s top bodies such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) which previously raised concerns about the lack of transparency, warning that the scheme opens the door for shell companies and other entities to funnel money into political parties without any oversight.
Unfortunately, the government of India has promised to bring back this scheme which has been declared unconstitutional and a threat of money laundering by India’s top court,
