India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted searches at eight locations in Bengaluru as part of an investigation into foreign exchange violations involving the Open Society Foundations (OSF)—founded by American billionaire George Soros—and its impact investment arm, the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF).
Sources told Indian media the searches were “carried out under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and involve the OSF along with various international human rights organizations,” The Economic Times reported.
The investigation centers on allegations that OSF procured foreign direct investment (FDI) and that some beneficiaries misappropriated these funds in violation of FEMA guidelines.
“Our teams carried out raids at eight locations on Tuesday in Bengaluru to investigate contraventions in foreign direct investment rules by SEDF and OSF in investments in various entities/individuals in India and subsequent utilization of those funds,” said one unnamed officer, the Hindustan Times added.
According to the reports, Soros-backed OSF sent nearly $3 billion to more than a dozen entities throughout India.
The unnamed officer added that a “preliminary investigation has revealed that OSF was put under the prior reference category by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2016, thereby restricting it from giving unregulated donations to NGOs in India.”
