Corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar diverted NGO funds for own business, personal gains: CBI

CBI has also named Girish Vaid, Krishna Kumar Nair, Tarun Kumar Kapoor, Archana Kapoor, and Pran Nath Monga as accused in the chargesheet, reported NDTV.

In 2017, the CBI initiated a case against Talwar and Advantage India based on a complaint from the Home Ministry regarding FCRA violations.

According to the CBI, Advantage India received Rs 90.72 crore in foreign contributions from various sources between 2012 and 2016, including donations from defence companies Airbus and MBDA, the report said.

Investigations have revealed that the non-profit organization misused foreign contributions for the personal and business activities of Talwar, thereby violating the provisions of the FCRA.

It has been discovered during the investigation that Advantage India served as a guarantor by using its fixed deposits to facilitate overdraft facilities for Wave Impex, a company controlled by Talwar and his family.

Furthermore, the funds of the non-profit were utilized for the business operations of the said company.

It also paid Rs 80 lakh as rent between 2012 and 2015 to Talwar, which amounts to using foreign contributions for personal gains, the report added.

Talwar is also facing charges by the CBI in the Air India case, where he is accused of assisting multiple foreign private airlines in obtaining lucrative routes and schedules at the expense of Air India, the national carrier, thereby causing significant financial losses for the airline.