The Enforcement Directorate has found that ASAR Social Impact Advisors, one of the three Bengaluru-based companies being probed for alleged funding from the Soros Foundation, also received ₹8 crore as inward remittance from the USAID, the foreign aid agency under scanner by the Donald Trump administration, reported The Times of India on Wednesday.
The development relates to the alleged foreign exchange violation case against US billionaire George Soros-founded 'private funding agency' OSF and its investment arm, the Economic Development Fund (EDF).
In March, the agency searched eight premises of some of the alleged beneficiaries of OSF and EDF, including those linked to some international human rights bodies.
ED sources told TOI that the company explained that ₹8 crore was reimbursed for services provided to a Delhi-based think tank, Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW).
In a statement to HT.com, CEEW, however, has denied any link 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,” it said.
“CEEW remains dedicated to its mission of conducting independent, rigorous research to support India's sustainable development. We are aligned with development priorities outlined by governments in India at different levels and will continue supporting evidence-based policymaking and implementation in this spirit. We wish to emphasise that all our work is conducted transparently, in full compliance with relevant regulations, and aligns with our core mission to serve the public interest,” the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}“CEEW remains dedicated to its mission of conducting independent, rigorous research to support India's sustainable development. We are aligned with development priorities outlined by governments in India at different levels and will continue supporting evidence-based policymaking and implementation in this spirit. We wish to emphasise that all our work is conducted transparently, in full compliance with relevant regulations, and aligns with our core mission to serve the public interest,” the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}The ToI report added that ASAR officials could not explain the details of its services to the CEEW and its alleged ties with the USAID.
ED probes funding motive
The ED is examining the motive and purpose of these alleged payments from the USAID.
CEEW's website states it is “one of Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions. CEEW uses data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to explain—and change—the use, reuse, and misuse of resources".
The two other companies under the ED's scanner are Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd and Rootbridge Academy Ltd. The two entities allegedly received funds from SEDF, the “impact investment arm” of the Open Society Foundation (OSF), one of several entities funded by Soros.
The OSF is under the home ministry's “prior reference category”, which mandates prior sanction to fund any Indian non-profit organisation. The central agency is probing whether the OSF complied with this mandatory requirement while funding related entities. Civil society organisations and think tanks that allegedly received funding from Soros in the garb of foreign direct investments are also under the ED's radar, the report said.