BENGALURU, MAR 18

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the premises of Open Society Foundations (OSF), an organisation backed by US billionaire George Soros, along with some linked entities in Bengaluru, on Tuesday. The searches were carried out as part of an investigation into alleged foreign exchange violations, official sources said.

According to sources, a preliminary investigation by the ED suggests that OSF was put under the “Prior Reference Category” by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2016, thereby restricting it from giving unregulated donations to NGOs in India. It is alleged that to bypass this restriction, “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 claimed.

The ED is also probing the end use of FDI funds brought in by the Soros Economic Development Fund (EDF). However, OSF was not immediately available for comment on the Enforcement Directorate’s action.

George Soros, a Hungarian-American political activist and philanthropist, along with his organisations, including OSF, has previously faced accusations from the ruling BJP of acting against India’s interests. His remarks during the Adani-Hindenburg controversy had also drawn sharp criticism from the party. OSF began its operations in India in 1999.