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South Koreans detained in ICE raid at Hyundai electric vehicle site in Georgia
Almost 500 people have been arrested at a Hyundai factory in the US state of Georgia by immigration authorities in the largest workplace raid of President Donald Trump’s second term.
A majority of those detained at the 3,000-acre site, which was built by the Korean company to manufacture electric vehicles and has been operational for a year, are Korean nationals.
South Korea expressed “concern and regret” over the operation and urged the US government to respect the rights of its citizens.
The Department of Homeland Security told the BBC that agents executed a search warrant due to allegations of “unlawful employment practices and other serious federal crimes”.
“This was not an immigration operation where agents went into the premises, rounded up folks and put them on buses,” Steve Schrank, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta, said at a news conference on Friday.
“This has been a multi-month criminal investigation where we have developed evidence, conducted interviews gathered documents and presented that evidence… in order to obtain a judicial search warrant,” Schrank added.
He said it was “the largest single-site enforcement operation in the history of homeland security investigations”.
The raid raises a possible tension between two of President Donald Trump’s top priorities – building up manufacturing within the US and cracking down on illegal immigration. It could also put stress on the country’s relationship with a key ally.
President Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday: “They were illegal aliens and ICE was just doing its job.”
Asked by a reporter about the reaction from Seoul, he said: “Well, we want to get along with other countries, and we want to have a great, stable workforce.
“And we have, as I understand it, a lot of illegal aliens, some not the best of people, but we had a lot of illegal aliens working there.”
“These [workers] are people that came through with Biden. They came through illegally.”
Some 475 people who were in the country illegally or working unlawfully were detained in the operation, immigration officials said.
They were being held at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Folkston, Georgia, until the agency decides where to move them next.
Of those detained, 300 are reported to be Korean nationals.
In a statement, Hyundai Motor Company said it was “closely monitoring the situation and working to understand the specific circumstances”.
“As of today, it is our understanding that none of those detained are directly employed by Hyundai,” it said.
Hyundai’s production of electric vehicles at the sprawling site was not affected, Reuters reported. Its partner in the battery joint venture, South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions, had paused construction work at the site.
Videos on social media show agents lining workers up and telling them they have a warrant to search the facility. The agents can also be seen talking to some of the employees in the videos.
South Korea said it was dispatching diplomats to the site in response to the raid and that it had contacted the US embassy in Seoul to urge the US “to exercise extreme caution” when it came to Korean citizens’ rights.
“The economic activities of Korean investment companies and the rights and interests of Korean citizens must not be unfairly infringed upon during US law enforcement operations,” South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
Trump has worked to bring in major investments from other countries while also levying tariffs he says will give manufacturers incentives to make goods in the US.
South Korean companies have promised to invest billions of dollars in key US industries in the coming years, partly as a way to avoid tariffs.
Georgia’s Governor, Republican Brian Kemp, had touted Hyundai’s new electric vehicle operation as the biggest economic development project in the state’s history, employing 1,200 people.
But the president also campaigned on cracking down on illegal immigration, telling supporters he believed migrants were stealing jobs from Americans.
Upon returning to office, he launched a massive effort across the country to round up people thought to be in the US illegally, hold them in detention facilities, and frequently deport them.
While many of those caught in the sweeps have ties to Latin American countries, people of other nationalities have also been arrested.
Business
CBDT acts against intermediaries filing tax returns with bogus deduction claims – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: After a massive nationwide operation, Central Board of Direct Taxes acted against several intermediaries involved in filing income tax returns with bogus claims of deductions and exemptions under the Income Tax Act.The move followed actions in July 2025, covering 150 premises, during which more than 102 suspicious RUPPs were identified for their role in facilitating bogus donation-linked deductions. Data analytics had flagged over 2 lakh taxpayers who claimed suspicious deductions under Section 80GGC, adding up to Rs 5,500 crore routed through suspicious or non-existent RUPPs and a similar amount of bogus donations to non-genuine charitable organisations, said officials.The enforcement findings have also prompted reversals of bogus deductions by taxpayers. Around 54,000 have already corrected their filings and withdrawn ineligible claims worth approximately Rs 1,400 crore and updated their returns after CBDT nudged them to revise their returns.Most of these taxpayers claimed deductions below Rs 5 lakh and a few companies claimed very high deductions.The exercise also revealed how intermediaries had established networks of agents to file returns with incorrect claims on commission basis. An intermediary was found to be advertising guaranteed refunds in cinema halls and on social media. It was found that there was a syndicate of professionals who was operating through WhatsApp and Telegram channels to find taxpayers looking at reducing tax liability through fake donations to RUPPs or charitable organisations.Instances of misuse of CSR-linked trusts, which facilitated bogus donation receipts in exchange for cash-back, were found during the probe.“It was observed that huge amounts of bogus claims have been made on account of donation RUPPs or charitable institutions and reduced their tax obligations and have also claimed bogus refunds.Evidence gathered from enforcement actions indicated that RUPPs many of which were non-filers, non-operational at their registered addresses, and are not engaged in any political activity were being used as conduits for routing funds, hawala transactions, cross border remittances and issuing bogus receipts for donations,” an official statement said.
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The move is expected to provide an immediate and substantial boost to Nepal’s economy, particularly its tourism and hospitality sectors, which rely heavily on Indian visitors
The original restrictions on high-value Indian currency were severely tightened in Nepal following the 2016 demonetisation in India, which withdrew old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes. Representational image
Nepal is preparing to officially permit the circulation of Indian currency notes above the ₹100 denomination, marking the end of a nearly decade-long ban that has significantly complicated cross-border travel, trade, and remittances between the two countries. The move, currently in its final stages with the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) preparing to publish the official notice, follows a crucial regulatory shift by India’s central bank.
The original restrictions on high-value Indian currency were severely tightened in Nepal following the 2016 demonetisation in India, which withdrew old ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes. Even after new notes were introduced, Nepal maintained the ban on all denominations above ₹100 due to concerns over the smuggling of counterfeit currency and security risks. This policy forced Indian tourists and Nepali migrant workers to carry large wads of low-denomination notes, leading to financial hardship, confusion, and frequent incidents of travellers being detained or fined for inadvertent violations.
India’s Regulatory Green Light
The pivotal change that has allowed Nepal to reverse course came from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In late November 2025, the RBI amended its Foreign Exchange Management Regulations, formally allowing individuals to transport higher-denomination Indian rupee notes across the border.
The new rule specifies that individuals can carry Indian currency notes of any amount in denominations up to ₹100. Crucially, they are now permitted to carry notes above ₹100 up to a total value of ₹25,000 in either direction—both into Nepal and back into India. This amendment effectively removed the main legal constraint that previously limited the practical utility of higher-value notes for travellers.
Boosting Tourism and Easing Remittances
The lifting of the ban is expected to provide an immediate and substantial boost to Nepal’s economy, particularly its tourism and hospitality sectors, which rely heavily on Indian visitors. Businesses in border towns, casinos, and pilgrimage routes that cater to Indian tourists have been vocal in lobbying for this change, as the previous restrictions limited spending power.
Furthermore, the decision is a massive relief for the estimated two million Nepali migrant workers in India, who previously faced major security risks when bringing home their earnings in small denominations. The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) spokesperson, Guru Prasad Poudel, confirmed that the process is nearing completion, stating they are preparing to publish the notice in the Nepal Gazette before issuing circulars to banks and financial institutions, ushering in a new era of smoother financial integration between the two neighbours.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 14, 2025, 01:21 IST
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Business
8th Pay Commission: Railways to trim costs to accommodate higher wages; maintenance, procurement, energy sectors in focus – The Times of India
Railways is implementing focused cost-cutting initiatives across maintenance, procurement and energy sectors to fortify its financial position before dealing with increased wage expenses anticipated from the Eighth Pay Commission recommendations.Established in January 2024, the Eighth Pay Commission must submit its recommendations within an 18-month timeframe.The previous Seventh Pay Commission led to wage increases of 14-26% for railway staff. Its implementation began in 2016, with tenure concluding in January 2026. The national transporter is currently emphasising expense reduction to enhance operational efficiency over the next two years to prevent financial strain from the forthcoming recommendations.The Seventh Pay Commission increased the wage expenditure by Rs 22,000 crore, including salaries and pensions, whilst the current projection suggests a potential rise of Rs 30,000 crore. “We have planned for the additional fund requirement,” a senior official told Economic Times, stating that internal accruals, combined with projected savings and increased freight revenue, would cover the expenses.Indian Railways recorded an operating ratio (OR) of 98.90% in fiscal 2024-25, resulting in net revenue of Rs 1,341.31 crore. For fiscal 2025-26, the target OR is 98.43% with anticipated net revenue of Rs 3041.31 crore.Officials anticipate annual energy savings of Rs 5,000 crore following network electrification completion.Additionally, yearly payments to Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) are expected to decrease in fiscal 2027-28, as recent capital expenditure has been funded through gross budgetary support (GBS).Officials confirm no plans for new short-term borrowing. “Annual freight earnings will also rise by Rs 15,000 crore when higher wages need to be paid in 2027-28,” the official stated.The Seventh Pay Commission implemented a 2.57 fitment factor, raising minimum basic pay from Rs 7,000 to Rs 17,990. Central trade unions advocate for a 2.86 fitment factor for the Eighth Pay Commission, potentially increasing the national transporter’s wage bill by over 22%.“Railways will ensure its finances are in a good condition to absorb the hit. Funds would not be an issue,” the official confirmed.The Railways has allocated Rs 1.28 lakh crore for staff costs in 2025-26, increased from Rs 1.17 lakh crore in 2024-25. Additionally, Rs 68,602.69 crore is earmarked for the pension fund in FY26, up from Rs 66,358.69 crore in FY25.
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