ED searches eight premises linked to George Soros funding agency
In the past, the ruling BJP has accused Soros of acting against India’s interests.
3 min read
The ruling BJP has accused Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist, of acting against India's interests (File image)
THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at eight locations in Bengaluru linked to the Open Society Foundations (OSF) founded by US billionaire George Soros and its investment arm, the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), as part of its probe into alleged foreign exchange violations.
The OSF did not respond to an email sent by The Indian Express.
The premises of some of the beneficiaries of OSF and SEDF, including those linked to some international human rights bodies, and a company named Aspada Investments Pvt Ltd were searched under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), sources said.
ED sources called Aspada Investments the investment advisor or fund manager of SEDF in India. According to sources, Aspada Investment Company was set up by the OSF in Mauritius to channelise funding in India. “Aspada Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd (AIAPL) was established in Bengaluru on February 4, 2013, to manage/ advise SEDF’s investment in India. It is learnt that SEDF funded more than 12 companies in India to the tune of Rs 300 crore, and ED is collecting evidence,” said sources.
According to sources, a preliminary investigation showed that OSF was placed under ‘Prior Reference Category’ (PRC) by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on May 30, 2016. “Since then, OSF needs prior sanction of MHA for sending money to FCRA registered organisations in India. SEDF is the social impact investment arm of the OSF,” said sources.
In order to bypass such restrictions, “the OSF had subsidiaries in India and brought in funds in the form of FDI and consultancy fees, and these funds have been used to fund activities of the NGOs, which is a FEMA contravention”, ED sources said.
The ED is probing the end use of the FDI funds.
Sources said SEDF was found to have provided funds for “various activities linked to the NGO sector in the garb of FDI or consultancy/ service fee” to three Indian companies, which together got around Rs 25 crore from 2020-21 to 2023-24.
According to the OSF, it is one of the world’s largest private funding agencies of groups supporting human rights, justice and accountable government, with an annual budget of over US$1 billion in 2020.
“The Open Society’s Soros Economic Development Fund is also an active social impact investor in India. Its goals include helping smallholder farmers and small businesses boost their incomes, and making healthcare, schooling and financial services more available and affordable to a broader range of people. Since 2008, Open Society has invested over $90 million in start-up and early funding projects managed by Bangalore-based Aspada Investments,” it says on its website.
In the past, the ruling BJP has accused Soros of acting against India’s interests. In December last year, it had alleged in Lok Sabha that a “dangerous triangle”, comprising Soros, news portal OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project), and the Congress with its leader Rahul Gandhi, were trying “to derail India’s success story”.
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