ED raids 8 premises of George Soros' entities in Bangalore

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is conducting searches under FEMA, 1999, at eight premises in Bangalore to investigate FEMA contraventions by US billionaire George Soros's EDF and Open Society Foundation.

Preliminary investigation by the ED has revealed that Soros's OSF was placed under the Prior Reference Category by the Union Home Ministry in 2016, thereby restricting it from giving unregulated donations to NGOs in India.

In order to bypass this restriction, OSF established subsidiaries in India and brought in funds in the form of FDI and consultancy fees.

These funds have been used to finance the activities of NGOs, which is a FEMA contravention, ED sources said.

The anti-money laundering agency is also examining the end use of other FDI funds brought in by Soros's EDF and OSF.

Meanwhile, ED searches also include a search of M/s Aspada Investments Pvt Ltd, which is the investment advisor and fund manager of SEDF in India and is a wholly owned subsidiary of a Mauritius entity.