Islamic preacher Zakir Naik’s NGO, Islamic Research Foundation, has been put under the ‘prior permission category’ by the Home Ministry.
This bars it from receiving foreign funds directly into its account.
The Ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India to convey to banks that no foreign funds could be released to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) account of the IRF without the Ministry’s clearance.
The decision has been taken after a preliminary inquiry found that the NGO was carrying out activities contrary to the FCRA norms.
The Ministry renewed IRF’s FCRA licence on August 19 despite an inspection notice on August 8. Following the renewal through the online system, four Home Ministry officials were suspended.
“We have enough time to gather evidence and take further action against IRF,” said a senior government official.
