Rs 5.10 Crore sent from Belgium NGO for education, diverted to proselytisation & conversion activities in Jaisalmer: ED

The Enforcement Directorate's Jaipur Zonal Office has intensified its probe into a foreign-funding network operating in Jaisalmer, with the agency searching two premises and examining the movement of around Rs 5.10 crore received from a Belgium-based non-profit organisation.

 

 

The searches were conducted on September 19, 2026, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. The ED disclosed details of the action on September 21, alleging that foreign funds received over several years were presented to banks as being meant for education, cultural and recreational activities, family maintenance and savings, but were used for purposes entirely different from those declared.

 

The case centres on Amar ASBL, a Belgium-based non-profit established in 2011. According to the ED, the organisation is managed by Belgian nationals Jose Goffinet and his son Salian Goffinet.

 

 

According to the ED, Jaisalmer residents Deu Ram and his associate Gyan Chand were the principal local recipients of the foreign remittances.

 

The funds were received under different descriptions. Some transactions were presented as payments connected with educational services, while others were described as being related to cultural and recreational activities.

 

Certain remittances were also shown as money being sent by non-resident Indians for family maintenance and savings.

 

The ED has questioned the actual purpose and utilisation of these funds.

 

The agency said Amar ASBL does not have a registered trust or NGO in India. Despite this, the organisation continued its activities in Jaisalmer for around 14 to 15 years through the two local individuals.

 

The agency has also found that the funding mechanism changed after banks began declining or refusing to process further remittances into the accounts of the original recipients.

 

According to the ED, the money was subsequently routed through accounts belonging to other associates.

 

This movement of funds is now a key part of the investigation as officials examine whether multiple accounts were used to continue receiving foreign money after scrutiny began.

 

 

The most serious allegation in the case concerns the diversion of money from its declared purpose.

 

The ED has claimed that the Rs 5.10 crore received from Belgium was not used solely for the educational and other purposes disclosed to banks. Instead, the agency claims that a portion of the funds was used for proselytisation and religious conversion activities among vulnerable sections of society.

 

According to the agency, the activities were carried out under the stated objective of providing schooling to children.

 

The ED is examining whether the education project was used as a channel through which foreign funds could be brought into India and subsequently deployed for activities beyond the declared charitable purpose.

 

The agency has also alleged that some of the money was used for personal expenditure.

 

 

A major financial trail being examined by investigators is the withdrawal of around Rs 2.60 crore in cash by Deu Ram.

 

The substantial cash withdrawals have become part of the ED's scrutiny into how the foreign funds were ultimately utilised. Investigators are examining the dates, amounts and circumstances of the withdrawals and whether the cash was subsequently distributed or spent for activities unrelated to the purposes declared at the time of receiving the remittances.

 

The agency has also claimed that proper books of accounts and financial records were not maintained to establish how the foreign funds were received and spent.

 

Documents and digital evidence were seized during the searches. The material is now being examined to establish the complete financial trail and identify other individuals who may have been involved in receiving or utilising the money.

 

 

 

Amar ASBL publicly presents itself as a small Belgian NGO involved in financing the education of around 125 disadvantaged children in the Amar Sagar village and Gaffur Batta area of Jaisalmer.

 

According to information published by the organisation, its India project dates back to 2011. The organisation says the project began after a Belgian tourist encountered a camel herder whose daughter could not afford to attend school.

 

Amar ASBL says its work is focused on ensuring education for disadvantaged children and states that 100 per cent of donations are intended for children's education, while administrative expenses are funded separately.

 

Its social media description similarly identifies the organisation as a Belgian NGO involved in organising and financing education for around 125 children in India.

 

However, the ED's allegations raise questions about whether the money sent for this stated purpose was actually utilised in the manner represented to the Belgian organisation and Indian banking authorities.

 

The agency is examining whether the declared educational services were actually rendered and whether the funds were instead deployed locally through the two Jaisalmer residents and their associates.

 

 

The ED has also alleged that Jose Goffinet and Salian Goffinet regularly visit Jaisalmer for around two to three weeks each year.

 

According to the agency, during these visits they meet families of children associated with the education project and organise meetings and religious gatherings.

 

The ED has alleged that such gatherings were also used to promote the organisation's cultural and religious beliefs and practices.

 

Investigators are examining the nature of these meetings, the people who attended them, the expenses incurred and whether any foreign funds were used in organising such activities.

 

The allegations are part of the wider investigation into whether the activities being conducted on the ground matched the purposes for which the foreign money was received.

 

 

The case has also drawn attention because of Jaisalmer's strategic location close to the India-Pakistan international border.

 

However, the ED's stated investigation in the present matter concerns the receipt, movement and utilisation of foreign funds under FEMA. The agency has not, in its stated allegations, established any connection between the funding case and cross-border activities.

 

The border location is therefore a contextual aspect of the case rather than an allegation against the organisation or individuals involved.

 

 

No arrests had been reported in connection with the September 19 searches when the ED announced the action.

 

The investigation is continuing, with officials examining documents, electronic devices and other digital evidence seized during the searches. The agency is also tracing the movement of funds through the accounts of Deu Ram, Gyan Chand and other associates.

 

The investigators are expected to examine whether the accounts were used individually or as part of a wider arrangement for receiving and transferring foreign remittances.

 

 

The immediate ED action has been initiated under FEMA, which regulates certain foreign exchange transactions and related financial activities.

 

The case also raises questions about compliance with India's foreign contribution regulations. The ED has specifically alleged that the foreign money was received and used for purposes different from those declared. Any separate violations relating to registration, receipt or utilisation of foreign contributions may be examined under the applicable provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act by the competent authorities.

 

The allegations, however, remain part of an ongoing investigation and have not been established by a court.

 

 

The Jaisalmer searches come against the backdrop of increased scrutiny by enforcement agencies into cases where foreign contributions are diverted from declared charitable, educational or social purposes.

 

In another recent case, the ED searched premises in Jaipur linked to a pastor and claimed that more than Rs 2 crore received from a US-based donor was used for religious conversion-related activities among Dalit and tribal communities.

 

The Jaisalmer case is now being examined through its financial trail, including the original foreign remittances, the bank accounts used to receive them, the subsequent movement of money, the Rs 2.60 crore cash withdrawals and the activities for which the funds were ultimately spent.