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In a surprising turn, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stumbled upon a huge money trail — nearly Rs 300 crore sent from billionaire George Soros’s global foundations to various groups in India. The funds were quietly moved to 12 different organisations, and officials say they didn’t even know about it until recently.
What triggered the discovery? ED was doing routine checks and searched three companies in Bengaluru. That’s when they found solid proof showing how these foreign funds made their way into India.
No Permission Taken from Government, Says ED
Here’s the catch — investigators believe that the money was sent without getting approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs. That’s a big deal because any foreign funding to NGOs or policy think tanks has to follow the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The idea is to make sure there’s transparency and nothing shady going on.
But according to what the ED has found so far, the donations may have been routed in a way that sidestepped these rules.
Mauritius Company Used as a Middleman
So how exactly did the money come in?
It started with Soros’s Open Society Institute, which reportedly created a company in Mauritius called Aspada Investment Company (AIC). This firm was set up just to handle the funding part. Later, another company — Aspada Investment Advisors Pvt Ltd (AIAPL) — was created in Bengaluru to help manage and give advice on Soros Economic Development Fund’s (SEDF) investments.
SEDF Dealt Directly With NGOs, Skipping Advisors
Here’s where things got even more interesting.
Officials who were questioned told ED that SEDF didn’t even go through AIAPL while sending funds. Instead, they said SEDF was directly in touch with NGOs and think tanks, and AIAPL wasn’t really part of the discussion.
That’s raised more questions for investigators. Was this a way to keep things off the radar? Or just poor coordination? The ED is still digging into that.
ED Raided 3 Bengaluru Firms Linked to the Money Trail
Back on March 18, the ED carried out searches at three companies:
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ASAR Social Impact Advisors Pvt Ltd
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Rootbridge Academy Pvt Ltd
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Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd (RSPL)
Together, these firms had received over Rs 26 crore from SEDF between 2020 and 2024, and the ED wanted to know why.
Companies Say They Were Hired for “Fundraising Services”
During questioning, the directors of the companies told the ED that SEDF had signed service contracts with them. The idea was that they’d provide fundraising help and support to other NGOs and think tanks.
One company — Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd (RSPL) — got Rs 18.6 crore just for that. The money was marked as foreign direct investment (FDI), but investigators aren’t fully convinced. They suspect this may have been a clever way to move donation money into India quietly.
