Gaurav Srivastava, an Indian businessman living in the United States, is accused of orchestrating international scams in which he claimed to be an undercover CIA agent.
LONDON: The Atlantic Council has confirmed that it has ended its relationship with a major donor, Gaurav Srivastava, after the Indian-American businessman was found to be involved in several fraudulent activities.
America's leading think tank said it decided to end its relationship with Gaurav Srivastava, his wife Sharon and their charity 'The Gaurav & Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation' after the think tank failed to confirm important details of his background in its investigation. of donors. process.
Srivastava and his wife Sharon donated at least $1 million to the think tank for its Global Forum on Food Security in Bali in November 2022.
“All funds received by the Atlantic Council from Mr. Srivastava for the World Food Security Forum were dedicated and used for the event,” an Atlantic Council spokesperson said, adding that they returned the funds received from Srivastava in 2023 for future collaborations.
“We made the decision to terminate our relationship with Mr. Srivastava upon learning of new information due to our donor review process. For example, we learned that the Gaurav & Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation was not an established 501(c)(3) organization. [non-profit organization] in April 2023, despite Mr. Srivastava stating before the Council that it was a registered foundation,” the spokesperson said.
In an attempt to distance Srivastava from these accusations of misrepresentation, the businessman's lawyer stated that the dismissal was “related to a gift in respect of a subsequent project, regarding which the parties did not agree on the manner of its implementation, so $500,000 given in advance was returned. .”
The Atlantic Council was facing questions and growing criticism following the discovery that one of its major donors, Gaurav Kumar Srivastava, was involved in large-scale scams, some of which included using the name of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). ) to make money fraudulently. .
Gaurav Srivastava, an Indian businessman living in the United States, is accused of orchestrating international scams in which he claimed to be an undercover CIA agent to defraud international businessmen.
