CBI arrests Deepak Talwar's close aide in FCRA violation case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday that it has arrested Yasmeen Kapoor, a close associate of corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar, who is currently in Tihar jail as part of its probe into a FCRA case.

A senior CBI official close to the development told , "We have arrested Yasmeen Kapoor today." Yasmeen has been arrested in connection with the probe agency's investigation into a 2017 case of Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act, 2010, the official said.

He said the agency had registered the case against Talwar's NGO in 2017 for receiving foreign aide to the tune of Rs 90 crore through the foreign direct investment (FDI) route, which was later diverted for other purposes.

The CBI alleged that the France-based Airbus SAS and UK-based missile manufacturer MBDA International gave about Rs 90.72 crore to the NGO for initiatives related to healthcare and education, but the money was later found to have been used for purchasing properties.

The NGO is accused of flouting several provisions of FCRA, including for "false statements, false accounts, claimed bogus expenses, furnished concocted vouchers, purchase of three luxury cars worth over Rs 84 lakh, payments made by the NGO for foreign visits of Talwar, funds used for making payments related to business activities of the founder of Advantage India."

An Enforcement Directorate official said that the financial probe agency has shared the details of Kapoor with the CBI.

He said the agency, after questioning Talwar in Tihar jail, has got the leads about the involvement of Kapoor. Talwar is currently in judicial custody in Tihar jail. He was deported from Dubai on January 30 this year and was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case.

Talwar has also been accused by the ED of acting as a middleman in negotiations to favour foreign private airlines in the matter of seat-sharing on Air India's profitable routes.

( With inputs from IANS )