<p>Bengaluru: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/enforcement-directorate">Enforcement Directorate </a>(ED) on Tuesday raided eight locations linked to three Bengaluru-based companies that received funds from the US nonprofit Open Society Foundations (OSF) in alleged contravention of FEMA rules. </p><p>The OSF is backed by US billionaire <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/george-soros">George Soros</a>. </p><p>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. </p>.Smriti Irani 'real agent' of billionaire investor George Soros, alleges Congress; BJP hits back.<p>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. </p><p>Since 2016, OSF has transferred Rs 300 crore in "dubious" transactions to fictitious firms via the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) automatic route, the source stated. </p><p>"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. </p><p>In the past, OSF would send funds to its India beneficiaries having licences under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). However, in 2016, the ministry placed OSF under the PRC within the FCRA. The act specifies that any company placed under the PRC should take prior permission from the MHA to transfer funds to India. </p><p>To send funds through the automatic route for FDI, a foreign company does not have to take prior permission from the government of India. </p><p>The ED grew suspicious after OSF made a large number of "dubious" transactions to Bengaluru-based consulting companies through FDI. </p><p>The source explained that Tuesday's raids yielded a number of documents, which would be reviewed to check the companies' bona fides and why they received the funds from OSF. </p><p>"Preliminary findings suggest that the OSF was involved in contravention of FEMA, so we have taken up a case under this law. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) will likely follow,” the source said. </p><p>An ECIR is the equivalent of an FIR in ED cases. </p><p>According to the source, they will now review the transaction details, and if any hint of money laundering is found, an ECIR will be filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).</p>
<p>Bengaluru: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/enforcement-directorate">Enforcement Directorate </a>(ED) on Tuesday raided eight locations linked to three Bengaluru-based companies that received funds from the US nonprofit Open Society Foundations (OSF) in alleged contravention of FEMA rules. </p><p>The OSF is backed by US billionaire <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/george-soros">George Soros</a>. </p><p>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. </p>.Smriti Irani 'real agent' of billionaire investor George Soros, alleges Congress; BJP hits back.<p>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. </p><p>Since 2016, OSF has transferred Rs 300 crore in "dubious" transactions to fictitious firms via the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) automatic route, the source stated. </p><p>"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. </p><p>In the past, OSF would send funds to its India beneficiaries having licences under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA). However, in 2016, the ministry placed OSF under the PRC within the FCRA. The act specifies that any company placed under the PRC should take prior permission from the MHA to transfer funds to India. </p><p>To send funds through the automatic route for FDI, a foreign company does not have to take prior permission from the government of India. </p><p>The ED grew suspicious after OSF made a large number of "dubious" transactions to Bengaluru-based consulting companies through FDI. </p><p>The source explained that Tuesday's raids yielded a number of documents, which would be reviewed to check the companies' bona fides and why they received the funds from OSF. </p><p>"Preliminary findings suggest that the OSF was involved in contravention of FEMA, so we have taken up a case under this law. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) will likely follow,” the source said. </p><p>An ECIR is the equivalent of an FIR in ED cases. </p><p>According to the source, they will now review the transaction details, and if any hint of money laundering is found, an ECIR will be filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).</p>