E-Paper
More climate activists under ED radar after searches at Harjeet Singh’s properties
More climate activists are on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate, which searched properties linked to climate activist Harjeet Singh in a funding probe
More climate activists are on the radar of the Enforcement Directorate, which searched properties linked to climate activist Harjeet Singh in a funding probe triggered by intelligence received during the COP30 summit in Brazil that certain climate activists were jeopardizing India’s position on issues such as the use of fossil fuels, officials said on condition of anonymity.
The searches on Monday were carried out at the residence of Singh, and the offices of his NGO, Satat Sampada, in Delhi and Ghaziabad, for violations under the foreign exchange management act or FEMA. The agency did not say what evidence it found regarding the alleged FEMA violations in the raids. But the Ghaziabad excise department arrested Singh as around 45 liquor bottles without any licence were found at his residence, said Sanjay Singh, assistant excise commissioner (Ghaziabad).
As part of searches on Singh and his non-government organisation (NGO) Satat Sampada, the federal financial crimes probe agency on Monday also searched the residence of Sanjay Vashisht - presently the director of Climate Action Network, South Asia.
ED, in a statement, said that inward remittances worth ₹6 crore were received as “consultancy charges, from foreign entities including Climate Action Network (CAN) and Stand.Earth etc., “which have in-turn received huge funds from Prior Reference Category NGOs like Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors”. Donors in the “Prior Reference Category” require the approval of ministry of home affairs (MHA) to fund Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or individuals.
“However, cross-verification of filings made by the remitters abroad indicates that the funds were actually intended to promote the agenda of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FF-NPT) within India,” the ED statement said.
“FF-NPT is a proposed international treaty aiming to phase out fossil fuel production. While presented as a climate initiative, its adoption could expose India to legal challenges in international forums like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and severely compromise the nation’s energy security and economic development,” the statement said.
The agency added that it is investigating Singh’s visit to Pakistan in February 2025 for the ‘Breathe Pakistan Summit’, and “a visit to Bangladesh in December 2025 during a period of anti-India protests, where he delivered a lecture at Sher-e-Bangla University without any official invitation and met various individuals unconnected to the stated purpose”. “The funding for these trips is also under scrutiny,” the ED statement added.
“We received intelligence around the COP30 that some climate activists were campaigning against fossil fuels at the behest of some foreign organizations...This is when we decided to look at his foreign funding,” said an officer at the agency, who didn’t want to be named. Another officer added that “similar activists or organisations whose climate campaigns may be inimical to India’s energy security are under the scanner”.
Singh is the co-founder of Satat Sampada Climate Foundation and Global Engagement Director at the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative. Previously, he was the head of Global Political Strategy at Climate Action Network (CAN) International and played a leadership role in climate justice initiatives at ActionAid. Both Singh and Vashisht have decades of experience in climate policy and activism and have been vocal advocates of climate justice for the Global South.
