GEORGE SOROS RAIDED – PAYS BIG PRICE
As part of an inquiry into alleged foreign exchange violations linked to the Open Society Foundations (OSF), an organization established by American billionaire George Soros, and its impact investment division, the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at eight locations in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
According to sources cited by Indian media, the searches were “carried out under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and involve the OSF along with various international human rights organizations,” as reported by The Economic Times.
The investigation primarily revolves around allegations that OSF received foreign direct investment (FDI) and that certain beneficiaries misused the funds in violation of FEMA regulations.
“Our teams carried out raids at eight locations on Tuesday in Bengaluru to investigate contraventions in foreign direct investment rules by SEDF and OSF in investments in various entities/individuals in India and subsequent utilization of those funds,” an unnamed officer stated, according to the Hindustan Times.
Reports suggest that OSF, backed by Soros, transferred approximately $3 billion to more than a dozen organizations across India.
A “preliminary investigation has revealed that OSF was put under the prior reference category by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2016, thereby restricting it from giving unregulated donations to NGOs in India,” the officer further explained.
“However, in order to bypass this restriction, OSF set up subsidiaries in India and brought in funds in the form of FDI and consultancy fees, and these funds have been used to fund activities of the NGOs which is a FEMA contravention,” the officer added.
Although OSF, founded by Soros, began its operations in India—the world’s largest democracy—in 1999, The Times noted that the organization does not maintain any offices there.
In a separate matter, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which was under the Biden administration’s control at the time, moved swiftly in November to approve a transaction that would have granted Democrat megadonor Soros a substantial stake in over 200 radio stations.
This decision has prompted an investigation by the House Oversight Committee, which has raised concerns about potential “politicization” and its implications for the 2024 presidential election, as reported by Fox News.
Several Republican lawmakers, along with a Republican FCC commissioner, criticized the agency’s approval of Soros’ acquisition of more than 200 Audacy radio stations, seeing it as a politically charged move.
Fox highlighted that, just weeks before the presidential election, the FCC “issued an order to approve Soros’ purchase of more than 200 radio stations in 40 markets,” potentially reaching up to 165 million Americans.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.) have accused the FCC of expediting its review of broadcast licenses by circumventing standard procedures.
Audacy Inc. owns more than 200 radio stations, and according to Fox, Soros aimed to restructure the company under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to acquire $415 million in debt.
During a late-February meeting with Republican lawmakers, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr provided an update on the agency’s investigation into Soros’ influence on local radio stations. Carr attended the annual closed-door gathering of 175 House Republicans who form the Republican Study Committee.
A source informed Fox News that Carr was expected to brief lawmakers on the rapid approval of the radio station acquisition. Additionally, the report indicated that Carr discussed broader strategies for countering left-wing media influence.
The GOP-led congressional investigation has focused on Soros Fund Management’s role in the transaction. Concerns have been raised about the investment firm’s significant foreign ownership and the possibility that such a stake could grant foreign governments undue influence over American radio programming.
“The FCC is not following its normal process for reviewing a transaction,” Carr previously told lawmakers regarding the sale.
“We have established over a number of years one way in which you can get approval from the FCC when you have an excess of 25 percent foreign ownership, which this transaction does,” Carr stated. “It seems to me that the FCC is poised to create, for the first time, an entirely new shortcut.”