Two MHA officials held for seeking bribe for FCRA registration

The Special Cell of Delhi Police in coordination with central agencies, apprehended two MHA officials for allegedly seeking gratification from an association to facilitate its registration under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), officials said on Tuesday. The two officials, a senior accountant and an accountant, were apprehended in New Delhi on Monday September 28, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs. One of them is presently posted in the Foreigners Division of the MHA, while the other is currently posted in a Pay and Accounts Office and had earlier served in the Foreigners Division, the ministry statement said. The two were arrested after a tip-off about the two men who were allegedly taking money to get the FCRA registration cleared.
Preliminary questioning indicated that the two officials were allegedly in contact with certain associations and sought gratification to facilitate their FCRA registration and renewal, the MHA said. The ministry said further investigation was under way and appropriate legal and departmental action was being taken against the accused officials.Reiterating its zero-tolerance policy towards corruption, the MHA said all FCRA-related services are provided online through the FCRA portal, the MHA said in a statement.
The FCRA is the law that governs how Indian individuals, associations, NGOs, trusts and companies may receive and use money, securities or articles sent to them from a source outside India. It is administered by the MHA. It identifies who may accept foreign contributions, and under what conditions. It specifies how that money must be received, accounted for, and reported.
India enacted the first FCRA in 1976 to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contributions.  Parliament enacted the FCRA, 2010 and since then, the framework has been strengthened through amendments in 2016, 2018 and 2020. The home ministry introduced the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 in the Lok sabha and the notified FCRA (Amendment) Rules, 2026 to further improve transparency, governance and regulatory clarity.  On August 12, the Lok Sabha referred the FCRA amendment bill to a JPC for an extensive review after multiple stakeholders, including church bodies, objected to the legislation’s provisions that allowed a Centre-appointed authority to take over assets created through foreign donations if the organisation failed to retain its FCRA license.
The amendments establish a designated authority for “a comprehensive framework for vesting, supervision, management and disposal of foreign contribution and assets, including provisional and permanent vesting.” A provision stated that the government can appoint a “designated authority” to take over, manage, or sell assets created from foreign funds by a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose licence under FCRA was cancelled, suspended, or simply not renewed.