Sonia, Rahul Gandhi enjoyed Rs 142 crore of ‘proceeds of crime’ in National Herald case, ED tells Delhi court

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a court here that Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi have enjoyed Rs. 142 crore of “proceeds of crime” linked to alleged National Herald money laundering case.

Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, representing the ED, said that the accused were benefiting from the proceeds of crime until the federal anti-money laundering agency attached assets related to the National Herald in November 2023.

Further, ASG Raju claimed that the accused committed money laundering not only when they acquired the “proceeds of crime” but also when they continued to hold it.

As per the ED, a prima facie case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was made out against the Gandhis, Congress Overseas Chief Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others.

After hearing the opening arguments of the ED, Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts ordered that the matter would be taken on a day-to-day basis from July 2 till July 8 for submissions on behalf of the Central agency and the proposed accused.

In the meantime, the judge asked the probe agency to furnish a copy of the prosecution complaint to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, on whose private complaint the ED launched the money laundering probe.

In an earlier hearing held on May 2, the Rouse Avenue Courts asked the Gandhis and others accused to show cause as to why cognisance should not be taken against them on ED’s charge sheet.

The anti-money laundering agency filed a prosecution complaint against senior Congress leaders, including the Gandhis, in the National Herald case. Others named in the charge sheet include Congress Overseas Chief Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others.

The charge sheet valued the alleged proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 988 crore. It is alleged that the Congress leadership had misappropriated property belonging to the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald, by converting public trusts into personal assets.

The National Herald, a newspaper established by Jawaharlal Nehru and other prominent leaders in 1938, was originally aimed at representing the liberal voice within the Congress. Published by AJL, the National Herald was a critical tool for Congress during the freedom struggle and post-independence years. Alongside the English publication, the AJL also published newspapers in Hindi and Urdu. However, the paper ceased operations in 2008 due to mounting debts exceeding Rs 90 crore.

The controversy over its assets came into focus in 2012 when BJP leader Swamy filed a complaint in a trial court, alleging that Congress leaders had engaged in cheating and breach of trust in the process of acquiring AJL. According to Swamy, the firm Young Indian Ltd — in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are majority stakeholders — acquired control over the newspaper’s vast assets through a “malicious” takeover aimed at benefiting the party leadership personally.

In the course of the investigation, the ED found that the accused, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, used Young Indian to acquire AJL’s assets at a nominal price of Rs 50 lakh. The probe agency claimed that Young Indian, beneficially owned by the Gandhis, effectively took control of AJL’s properties while undervaluing their market worth. In November 2023, the ED attached immovable properties valued at Rs 661 crore and AJL shares worth Rs 90.2 crore, terming them suspected proceeds of crime.

–IANS