The money sat in American bank accounts, but it came out as cash from ATMs in India. A financial investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered exactly this kind of cross-border network, one designed to move funds while slipping past banking rules and mandatory monitoring. According to investigation documents seen by TrendKia, the case revolves around the US-based organisation The Timothy Initiative (TTI) and a chain of people connected to it across India and abroad.
How the foreign-card scheme worked
The ED alleges that the operation relied on debit cards issued by Truist Bank in the United States. What stands out is that these cards were in the hands of people in India who were not the actual holders of the accounts. According to the agency, more than 1,000 such foreign debit cards have been run in India since 2019.
The scale of the money is large. The probe claims that between November 2025 and April 2026, roughly Rs 92.55 crore (99.9 million US dollars) in foreign funds was put to use in India through this arrangement. Separately, the total amount withdrawn purely through ATMs between January 2024 and March 2026 is estimated at around Rs 44 crore.
23 cards in a single name
One of the most striking parts of the investigation involves debit cards that were allegedly issued under just one name, ‘Santosh Kumar’. The ED claims that at least 23 cards were created in this single name on the instructions of Ajit Varghese Mathai, TTI's finance head.
Officials believe this was a deliberate move to dodge the banking system's KYC rules and oversight. In the agency's words, it was a carefully planned structure whose real aim was to hide the identity of the cards' actual users and to convert foreign money directly into cash through Indian ATMs.
An airport arrest in Bengaluru blew it open
The case took a major turn when agencies stopped a man named Micah Mark at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. He is described as a key financial operator of this alleged network. According to officials, 24 Truist Bank debit cards were recovered from him.
Searches then followed at premises linked to Ajit Mathai. Investigators recovered around Rs 37 lakh in cash there, most of it in Rs 500 notes. They also found a corporate debit card allegedly tied to the name ‘Ajit Mathai – The Timothy Initiative’.
The probe goes beyond money trails
Sources connected to the investigation say the agencies are not stopping at the transaction ledgers alone. They are also examining the wider impact of the organisation's activities. The ED alleges that the body built a network of outreach, training programmes and ideological activity among economically weaker and socially vulnerable communities. The agency contends that the alleged covert use of foreign money helped these activities expand without any real regulatory scrutiny.
Suspicious transactions in Bastar and Dhamtari
During the probe, unusual financial movement also surfaced in the Bastar and Dhamtari regions of Chhattisgarh. According to officials, repeated and abnormal ATM withdrawals worth around Rs 6.34 crore were recorded in these areas.
Because these regions are already considered sensitive in terms of left-wing extremism, agencies are scrutinising the transactions even more closely. The ED is now trying to establish the link between the foreign funding, the cash pulled out through ATMs and the various social activities. The agency is also looking into the scope of the network, its beneficiaries and the role of others involved. More disclosures are expected in the case in the days ahead.
