CBI nabs 3 in FCRA violation case over Deepak Talwar's NGO

A day after the CBI arrested corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar's close associate Yasmeen Kapoor, the agency on Thursday said it has arrested three more people in connection with its probe into the FCRA violation case.

A senior CBI official, wishing not to be named told , "The agency has arrested three more people Nitin Vadehra, Pradeep Sood and Tarun Kapoor in connection with the FCRA violation case involving Talwar."

On Wednesday, the CBI arrested Yasmeen Kapoor, a close associate of Talwar who is currently in Tihar jail, as part of its probe into the FCRA case.

The CBI is probing a 2017 case of Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act, 2010 related to Talwar's NGO.

The agency had registered the case against Talwar's NGO in 2017 for receiving foreign aid 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, claiming bogus expenses, furnishing 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."

Talwar currently is in judicial custody at 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 )