ED unearths illegal liquor stock at Ghaziabad entity-linked premises, UP excise officials arrest director

Ghaziabad, Jan 6 The ED searched the premises of a Ghaziabad entity and unearthed huge stock of illegal liquor and recovered documents pointing to receipt of suspicious foreign inward remittances amounting to over Rs 6 crore, an official said on Tuesday.

One person was arrested by UP Excise department, an official said on Tuesday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Headquarters Office, carried out the search operation on Monday under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999, at various premises in Delhi-NCR linked to Satat Sampada Private Limited (SSPL).

The illegal stock of foreign liquor has been seized by the Uttar Pradesh Excise department from the premises of Harjeet Singh, a self-proclaimed climate activist and Founding Director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, who was also taken into custody.

The searches were conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into suspicious foreign inward remittances amounting to over Rs 6 crore between 2021 and 2025, received by SSPL, a Ghaziabad-based entity run by the couple, Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Awasthi.

The shareholders of SSPL, Harjeet Singh and Jyoti Awasthi, diverted funds received from foreign NGOs to their personal accounts for private use, said the ED.

The ED investigations revealed that these remittances were received in the garb of "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 Rockfellar Philanthropy Advisors.

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, said the statement.

The 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, it said.

Harjeet Singh, a self-proclaimed climate activist and Founding Director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, and his wife Jyoti Awasthi, previously engaged with Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA), have used SSPL to advance their activism.

The ED is investigating Singh’s visit to Pakistan in February 2025 for the 'Breathe Pakistan Summit' and the various persons he met there.

During a visit to Bangladesh in December 2025 during a period of anti-India protests, 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 said.

The SSPL publicly projects itself as an agro-based company engaged in promoting organic farming and marketing organic produce. The ED's investigation, however, suggests this is a front activity.

The company's primary activity appears to be channelling foreign funds to run narratives furthering the FF-NPT cause in India, on behalf of foreign influencer groups, said the ED.

The financial trajectory of SSPL reveals that before 2020-21, the company operated at a loss with minimal consultancy revenue. Post-2021, coinciding with the receipt of over Rs 6.5 crore in foreign remittances, SSPL turned profitable by booking these funds as revenue from "consultancy services" and "agro-product sales", the ED said.

The central agency suspects misdeclaration and misrepresentation of the nature and purpose of the foreign funds received by SSPL.

The ED is investigating the full extent of the suspected violations of FEMA, 1999 and whether the activities funded were against the national interest, specifically India's energy security. Further investigation into the financial trail, the role of the foreign funding entities, and the activities of the Directors is under progress.

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