ED raids Soros-linked entities in Bengaluru
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at eight premises in Bengaluru to investigate violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by US billionaire George Soros' Economic Development Fund (EDF) and Open Source Foundation (OSF).
Preliminary investigation by the ED had revealed that Soros' OSF was put under the 'prior reference category' by the Home Ministry in 2016 thereby restricting it from giving unregulated donations to NGOs in India.
"In order to bypass the restriction, the OSF had subsidiaries in India and brought in funds in the form of FDI and consultancy fee," ED sources said, adding that the funds were used to finance activities of NGOs in contravention of FEMA.
The anti-money laundering agency is also examining the end-use of other FDI funds brought in by Soros' EDF and OSF.
Among the premises searched by the ED included those belonging to Aspada Investments Pvt Ltd, which is the investment adviser-cum-fund manager of Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) in India.
Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist and philanthropist, along with his organisations, has previously faced accusations from the Indian Government of acting against the country’s interests.
His remarks during the Adani-Hindenburg controversy had also drawn sharp criticism from the BJP. The OSF began its operations in India in 1999.
