The development relates to the alleged foreign exchange violation case against US billionaire George Soros-founded OSF and EDF
GUWAHATI, April 2: A George Soros-funded Bengaluru firm has received Rs 8 crore from USAID, Times of India has reported.
The Times of India reported that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has found that ASAR Social Impact Advisors, one of the three Bengaluru-based companies being probed for alleged funding from the Soros Foundation, received Rs 8 crore from USAID as foreign inward remittance in 2022-23.
The three companies, ToI said in the report, received Soros’s funds between 2021 and 2024.
The company, the report further stated citing disclosures by ED sources, that the Rs 8 crore was reimbursed for services provided to a Delhi-based think tank, Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW).
Hindustan Times, on the other hand, reported that CEEW, however, denied having any links to George Soros or the Open Society Foundations.
“CEEW has no link to George Soros or the Open Society Foundations. CEEW has never had any association or received any funding from George Soros or the Open Society Foundations. ASAR Social Impact Advisors was contracted by CEEW to provide specific services for a USAID project related to cleaner air. This project has already ended. CEEW has no current relationship to ASAR at this stage. CEEW has not received any queries from any government authorities related to ASAR. We have no reason nor have any basis on which to comment on any ongoing investigation concerning a third party,” Hindustan Times quoted the organization as stating.
The two other companies under ED’s scanner are Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd and Rootbridge Academy Ltd and allegedly received funds from a Soros-funded entity named SEDF.
