The Enforcement Directorate has discovered that ASAR Social Impact Advisors, one of the three Bengaluru-based firms under investigation for alleged funding from the Soros Foundation, also received ₹8 crore in inward remittances from USAID. According to a report by The Times of India on Wednesday, this foreign aid agency has been under scrutiny by the Trump administration. The case is linked to alleged foreign exchange violations involving the Open Society Foundation (OSF), founded by US billionaire George Soros, and its investment arm, the Economic Development Fund (EDF).

In March, the agency probed eight locations connected to alleged beneficiaries of OSF and EDF, including some related to international human rights organisations.

Sources within the ED told TOI that the company clarified that the ₹8 crore was reimbursement for services rendered to the Delhi-based think tank, the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW). 

According to the report, company officials could not clearly explain their services and alleged connections to USAID when questioned by CEEW. ASAR and the think tank declined to comment on the ED's investigation, which is focused on understanding the purpose and motivation behind the alleged payments from USAID.

According to the CEEW's website, 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.”

Notable figures linked to the think tank include Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former deputy chairman of the now-defunct Planning Commission, and Suresh Prabhu, former Union minister and BJP leader.

The ED is also investigating two other companies, Rootbridge Services Pvt Ltd and Rootbridge Academy Ltd. These entities are suspected of receiving funds from SEDF, the “impact investment arm” of the Open Society Foundation (OSF), among several entities funded by Soros.

The OSF is listed under the home ministry's “prior reference category,” meaning it must obtain prior approval before funding any Indian non-profit organisation. The central agency examines whether the OSF followed this requirement while providing funds to related entities. Additionally, civil society organisations and think tanks that allegedly received funding from Soros under the guise of foreign direct investments are also being scrutinised, according to the report.