The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting searches under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) at eight premises in Bangalore to investigate FEMA contraventions by non-governmental organisations, Soros Economic Development Fund (EDF) and Open Society Foundations (OSF). ED has revealed that Soros OSF was put under the Prior Reference Category by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2016, thereby restricting it from giving unregulated donations to NGOs in India. The agency stated that in order to bypass this restriction, OSF had subsidiaries in India and brought in funds in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and consultancy fees. ED said that these funds have been used to fund activities of the NGOs, which is a FEMA contravention. ED is also examining the end use of other FDI funds brought in by Soros EDF and OSF.