India raids Soros-backed Open Society locations over ‘dubious’ transactions

The Indian government raided eight Soros-backed offices in Bengaluru linked to Open Society Foundations (OSF) and associated entities, supported by the US billionaire.

The raid comes after suspicious transactions between OSF to NGOs in violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) rules.

From the Deccan Herald:

The central agency raided the premises linked to Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd in Ashoknagar, ASAR Social Advisor Pvt Ltd in Malleswaram, and a third unnamed company, a well-placed source in the ED has confirmed.

According to the source, the raids came after OSF transferred Rs 25 crore to the companies in “suspicious” transactions in the past few months. Former employees of Amnesty India chair the board of directors of these companies, the source added.

“OSF seems to have found FDI as a substitute for channeling funds into India after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) placed it under the Prior Reference Category (PRC),” the source told DH.

In short, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), responsible for enforcing economic laws, became suspicious of OSF after large numbers of “dubious” transactions to consulting companies based in Bengaluru were discovered.

News of the raids were a hopeful sign for many on X:

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