New Delhi: The NCR-based non-profit and its directors, whose premises were raided Monday, allegedly channeled foreign funds, received under the guise of consultancy fees, as donations to influence environmental narratives, Enforcement Directorate officials have said.
ED searched the office of Satat Sampada Pvt. Ltd in Noida and the Ghaziabad residence of activist couple Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Awasthi, who run the NGO, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, which allows the agency to probe suspicious foreign remittances.
According to ED officials, SSPL’s financial records showed a dramatic turnaround after 2021, when the NGO began receiving payments from foreign NGOs. These payments were classified as consultancy revenue.
“SSPL’s balance sheet shows two revenue sources between 2021 and 2024, agro-product sales and consultancy services, totalling approximately Rs 9.22 crore. This was nearly equally split between Rs 4.57 crore from sales of the agro products, and Rs 4.65 crore from consultancy services,” an ED official told ThePrint.
The official said consultancy revenue appeared in the financial statements only from 2021 onwards, and before that the NGO had been operating at a loss.
“The company turned profitable, possibly by classifying funds amounting to Rs 6.52 crore between 2021 and 2025 from foreign entities as revenue,” the ED official said.
ThePrint reached Harjeet Singh for comment over call and WhatsApp but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
The NGO, which began in 2016, declared itself as an agro-based entity producing organic agricultural products. Instead of its listed purpose to promote organic farming, according to ED sources, the NGO allegedly channeled foreign funds to promote environmental agenda in India.
ED officials alleged that verification of disclosures by overseas donors indicated the payments were intended to advance the Fossil Fuel-Non Proliferation Treaty (FF-NPT) cause and promote narratives supporting the treaty. Between 2021 and January 2025, officials said, Singh served as strategic adviser and director of the FF-NPT initiative.
Singh founded SSPL in 2016 and the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation in early January last year. His wife and co-founder Awasthi has earned recognition as an advocate for organic farming, promoting sustainable, climate-resilient agriculture.
The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty is a proposed international agreement that seeks to curb the climate crisis by directly targeting fossil fuel supply. Though non-binding, the treaty calls for ending approvals for new fossil fuel projects and stresses a managed phase-out of existing production while providing financial and technical support to help countries transition to clean energy.
The treaty has gained political traction in recent years, with Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Fiji, Colombia, Antigua and Barbuda, Timor-Leste, and several other small-island and climate-vulnerable countries formally endorsing the initiative.
Of the total Rs 6.52 crore foreign funds to SSPL’s account, Rs 2.4 crore came from the Bonn-based NGO Climate Action Network, where Singh served on the board and as head of Global Political Strategy from July 2022 to January 2024. Canada-based NGO STAND.Earth allegedly infused Rs 2.04 crore into SSPL’s account, while American human resources company DEEL transferred Rs 1.35 crore over the past few years, agency sources said.
Sources added that Singh attended a climate summit in Pakistan last year, participating in the ‘Breathe Pakistan’ conference in his capacity as global engagement director of the FF-NPT initiative.
During Monday’s searches, the agency also recovered around 45 litres of imported liquor, which was seized by the local excise department. The department has initiated proceedings, including registration of an FIR for violation of excise rules.
(With inputs from Soumya Pillai in New Delhi)
(Edited by Prerna Madan)