ED Attaches OM India’s Rs 15-Crore Worth Properties
The market value of the attached properties was estimated to be around Rs 15 crore, the ED said in a press release
Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached 12 properties belonging to Operation Mobilisation (OM India) Group of Charities in view of alleged misappropriation of tuition fees, ancillary charges collected from students of Good Shepherd Schools and misappropriation of government-funded RTE and scholarship amounts between 2011-12 and 2017-18.
The market value of the attached properties was estimated to be around Rs 15 crore, the ED said in a press release. The ED took up the case based on a first information report registered by the economic offences wing of the Telangana CID.
The CID uncovered an organised fraud within Operation Mercy India Foundation (OMIF) and affiliated organisations, involving diversion and misappropriation of Rs 296 crore in foreign and domestic donations.
As per chargesheet filed by CID, Dr Joseph D’Souza, his son Josh Lawrence D’Souza, and other office-bearers systematically diverted funds received from donors, including major Christian charity networks such as Dalit Freedom Network (DFN) USA, Canada and the UK, which were meant for the education and upliftment of Dalit and marginalised children.
Although the group claimed to provide free English-medium education, community development and rehabilitation assistance, CID found that substantial funds were diverted into private accounts, fixed deposits and real estate transactions.
Forensic audit revealed large-scale manipulation of student data submitted to foreign donors for student education sponsorship even though regular tuition fees and other charges were collected from all students and recorded falsely as “local donations.”
ED investigation revealed that OMIF had received significant foreign sponsorship funds for the education of students from Dalit and other marginalised sections of society and other ancillary expenses related to the construction and running of the schools.
Searches by ED at OM India offices and residences of key personnel led to seizure of property documents, financial records and electronic devices which revealed data of deliberate manipulation in the sponsorship data aimed at inflating the number of students claimed to be sponsored and justifying receipt of additional foreign donations.
Manipulations included assigning multiple student codes to the same individual, different student codes for different years, different students under the same code, altering personal details (photographs, dates of birth and parents’ names) and inconsistencies in other parameters like height, class, caste and gender.
ED investigation has established that Good Shepherd Schools collected regular fees, book charges, uniform and bus fees from all students, including those represented as fully sponsored, thereby generating proceeds of crime.
