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ED Probes Rs 95 Crore Foreign Debit Card Network Linked to Withdrawals in Maoist-Hit Regions

The case signals growing scrutiny of cash withdrawals in insurgency-hit areas using overseas bank cards.

Overview

  • ED investigators, who ran coordinated searches on April 18–19 at six sites under FEMA, seized 25 foreign debit cards, Rs 40 lakh in cash, and multiple digital devices.
  • Officials allege about Rs 95 crore flowed into India from November 2025 to April 2026 by using Truist Bank–linked cards to make repeated ATM withdrawals that bypassed normal banking checks.
  • Suspicious cash pulls were concentrated in Left Wing Extremism zones such as Dhamtari and Bastar in Chhattisgarh, where roughly Rs 6.5 crore was withdrawn over recent years.
  • The agency says the cash covered expenses for The Timothy Initiative in India, which is not registered under the foreign funding law known as the FCRA.
  • Bureau of Immigration officers intercepted Micah Mark at Bengaluru airport with 24 foreign debit cards after an ED lookout notice, and the probe now tracks an overseas-run platform said to have logged the withdrawals.