The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has dropped charges of forex violations against Tibetan religious leader Ogyen Trinley Dorje, four years after the 17th Karmapa and his associates were charged with keeping illegal foreign and domestic currency worth Rs 5.97 crore. An order by the ED’s Adjudicating Authority has cleared the Karmapa of violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). It has, however, held the Karmapa’s director of finance Thupten Sherab guilty under FEMA of holding foreign exchange without legal authorisation. “The forex seized was donations received from followers. The Karmapa has been cleared of charges, as investigations reveal that he had no control over donations received by the trust,” said an ED source. The ED, however, ordered confiscation of the seized forex that amounts to Rs 5.97 crore. “At the time of seizure, they did not have permission from the RBI for holding the forex. They have since applied for requisite permissions for receiving foreign donations. and have been granted approval. The Karmapa’s associates in charge of the trust’s finance department have, therefore, been held guilty. The amount belongs to the government and has been confiscated,” said the source. On January 26, 2011, police seized Rs 1 crore from an SUV at Una in Himachal Pradesh. Probe revealed that the money was for a land deal between Dharamsala-based businessman K P Bharadwaj and and Karma Garchen Trust, run under the Karmapa. Two days later, police searched the Karmapa’s Gyuto monastery on the outskirts of Dharamsala and recovered Rs 5.97 crore in currencies of 26 countries.
