NEW DELHI: The Union home ministry cancelled Thursday the licence issued under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 to Ladakh activist Sonam Wangchuk’s NGO, Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh, over alleged violations. Wangchuk had alleged that the govt was building a case to put him behind bars.The cancellation came hours after MHA attributed Wednesday’s mob violence and arson in Ladakh to the “provocative” speeches made by Wangchuk with references to Arab Spring-style protests and the Gen Z outpouring in Nepal.‘Wangchuk got 1.5cr in foreign funds without FCRA registration’ The alleged violations include depositing locally generated funds in SECMOL’s FCRA account, diversion of funds for non-permissible activities, like studying the country’s sovereignty, and failure to deposit the foreign funds received in the designated FCRA account.Sources claimed even Himalayan Institute of Alternatives Ladakh (HIAL) founded by Sonam Wangchuk had received foreign remittances of over Rs 1.5 crore without FCRA registration. An amount of Rs 6.5 crore was allegedly diverted to Wangchuk’s private firm Sheshyon Innovation. Sources said Wangchuk had sent Rs 2.3 crore abroad during 2021-24 from his personal account, and received Rs 1.68 crore foreign funds from 2018 to 2024 in different accounts, adding that he has nine personal bank accounts of which eight are not declared. An official said HIAL has seven accounts, of which four remain undeclared; and SECMOL nine accounts, of which six are not declared. Sheshyon has three accounts of which two are not declared. Wangchuk has been receiving huge CSR funds from corporates, including PSUs, even though he criticises them, the official said.CBI, on the request of the home ministry, is now probing the alleged violations while the income tax authorities are looking into other financial irregularities.Proceedings against SECMOL began Aug 20 with the issuance of a show-cause notice which raised the depositing of Rs 3.5 lakh by Wangchuk into SECMOL’s FCRA account in 2021-22. Though SECMOL clarified that Rs 3.35 lakh were proceeds from sale of an old bus in 2015, MHA noted that the FCRA return filed by SECMOL showed Wangchuk received it as foreign donation.MHA said local funds worth Rs 54,600 were deposited in the FCRA account of SECMOL by three individuals in violation of Section 17 of the Act, which the NGO said was mistakenly transferred.An additional Rs 4.9 lakh was received from foreign donors for study on topics including sovereignty, which cannot be accepted, said MHA as it “is against the national interest”.
