NEW DELHI: ED investigators tracking the Rs 300 crore disbursed by George Soros’s foundations have found that the bulk of the money donated by the controversial billionaire hedge fund operator went to 12 entities.
Govt and the investigating agencies were not aware of the largesse by Soros’s foundations until ED came across evidence of its disbursement during the searches carried out on the premises of three companies in Bengaluru.
These funds were routed to different civil rights organisations and think tanks in India by allegedly bypassing the home ministry’s mandatory permission required under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, according to the ED’s preliminary findings.
The probe found that funds were routed from Soros’s Open Society Institute, which had set up Aspada Investment Company (AIC) in Mauritius for this purpose. Later, another entity, Aspada Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd (AIAPL) was set up in Bengaluru to channelise funds and to “manage and advise Soros Economic Development Fund‘s (SEDF) investments”.
Sources said preliminary questioning of officials linked to the three Bengaluru-based companies revealed that SEDF was directly dealing with funding to different NGOs and think tanks and its front entity AIAPL was not consulted.
On March 18, ED conducted searches at premises of ASAR Social Impact Advisors Pvt Ltd, Rootbridge Academy Pvt Ltd and Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd (RSPL) in connection with over Rs 26 crore received by them from SEDF between 2020 and 2024. The directors of RSPL and other entities were questioned by the agency during which it was was found that SEDF had given a “service contract” to them to provide fundraising services to other NGOs and think tanks. RSPL alone received Rs 18.6 crore for such services allegedly as foreign direct investment.
