ED raids entities linked to George Soros in Bengaluru
What's the story
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a series of raids at the Bengaluru offices of Open Society Foundations (OSF), a nonprofit organization founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros.
The searches are part of the investigation into possible foreign exchange violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
The premises of former Amnesty International employees, as well as current Human Rights Watch employees, were searched, NDTV reported.
FEMA violations
Allegations of violating Foreign Exchange Management Act
According to officials, the case being investigated stems from allegations that OSF has been sourcing foreign direct investment (FDI) and utilizing these funds in a manner that is possibly in violation of FEMA guidelines.
Both Amnesty India office and Human Rights Watch reportedly received funds from the OSF in the past.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has charged the former, while the ED filed a complaint against the latter.
Controversies
Soros and OSF have faced criticism in India
Soros, Hungarian-American political activist and philanthropist along with his organizations including OSF has been under fire from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly working against India's interests.
The party also denounced Soros's remarks that PM Narendra Modi would "have to answer questions" from foreign investors after Adani Group was accused of fraud and stock manipulation.
The OSF is one of the supporters of The Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which published the report against Adani Group.