Kumar Bahukhandi
CBI HQ in New Delhi. -Photo Credit-channel24india.com
Use of foreign funds in Naxal-affected areas prima facie constitutes an ‘unlawful activity’ within the meaning of Section 2(o) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, says the probe agency
New Delhi : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has decided to share its findings with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further legal action in the case of routing foreign funds into India, including in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected areas, through foreign debit cards allegedly linked to U.S.-based The Timothy Initiative (TTI), according to agency officials.
The ED has alleged that at least ₹92.55 crore was used in India in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) provisions.
In April 2026, the agency searched multiple locations, seized ₹37 lakh in cash, 24 foreign debit cards, and digital devices. Based on its complaints, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered at the Dhamtari police station in Chhattisgarh on May 11, and another at the Kothanpur police station in Karnataka’s Bengaluru city on June 11.
Repeated cash withdrawals
Initially, a Suspicious Transaction Report generated by the Financial Intelligence Unit-India flagged the modus operandi of routing funds through bank debit cards issued by Truist Bank, U.S., “bypassing prescribed banking and regulatory channels”.
“The input indicated that repeated cash withdrawals were being made from ATMs in India, typically in the range of ₹70,000-80,000 at intervals of two to three days, across multiple States,” said an agency official. As alleged, debit cards belonged to TTI accounts in the U.S. bank. The withdrawn funds were either deposited in cash in Indian bank accounts or transferred online for meeting expenses.
During its probe, the agency has identified Jonathan S. Rajan as alleged “overall operations head”; Micah Mark as “key financial operative and card carrier”; and Ajit Verghese Mathai as “financial head, India operations”, from Bengaluru; Varghese Chako (field functionary) in Chhattisgarh; Bablu Kurmi (field functionary) in Assam, and Supreme Joy (field functionary) in Karnataka.
According to the ED findings, about ₹92.55 crore ($99,95,240) was used from November 2025 to April 2026. Nearly ₹44 crore was withdrawn through ATMs from January 2024 to March 2026 across Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Assam and other States. Close to ₹6.34 crore was taken out in LWE-affected Dhamtari and Bastar districts of Chhattisgarh.
Mark was detained at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, on April 18, 2026, and 24 debit cards allegedly seized from him.
The ED found that 23 cards were printed in the name of Santosh Kumar, “a generic Indian name used to avoid detection”. In his statement to the agency, Mark allegedly said TTI had distributed over 1,000 such cards in India since 2019.
