(Image source from: ANI)
During a court session related to a money laundering case tied to the National Herald newspaper, the Enforcement Directorate informed a Delhi court that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have possessed illicit gains amounting to Rs 142 crores. SV Raju, the Additional Solicitor General representing the agency, stated that properties connected to the National Herald were seized in November 2023, asserting that the defendants were still availing themselves of these "proceeds of crime." He elaborated that these proceeds encompass not only assets obtained through scheduled offenses but also any criminal activities that are associated with those proceeds. The Enforcement Directorate accused the individuals of money laundering for both acquiring and retaining these illicit gains.
The Enforcement Directorate asserted that there exists sufficient evidence to support a case of money laundering against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and other parties involved in the National Herald issue. This assertion was made during initial proceedings before special judge Vishal Gogne, who was deciding whether to acknowledge the case. Simultaneously, the judge instructed the ED to provide a copy of its chargesheet to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who had filed the private complaint that led to the current investigation. The ED recently submitted its chargesheet after commencing its inquiry in 2021, following a magistrate's court acknowledging the private complaint submitted by Swamy on June 26, 2014.
The case against the Enforcement Directorate is based on a 2015 ruling from a trial court that authorized the Income Tax Department to scrutinize the financial transactions related to the National Herald and evaluate the tax obligations of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. This court order was a result of a complaint lodged by Subramanian Swamy in 2013, in which he accused the Gandhis of financial misconduct concerning their acquisition of the National Herald newspaper. Swamy alleged that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi acquired control of Associated Journals Limited (AJL)—the newspaper's owning body—through Young Indian Limited (YIL), where they own an 86% majority stake. The acquisition purportedly occurred for merely ₹50 lakh, while the real estate associated with AJL is valued at over ₹2,000 crore.
Additionally, Swamy claimed that the Congress leaders misappropriated party funds, arguing that YIL was leveraged to acquire rights to recoup ₹90.25 crore in loans owed by AJL to the Congress party, and they did so for a small fraction of this sum. The Enforcement Directorate is currently examining the roles of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as majority holders in YIL and how this relates to their oversight of AJL and its valuable holdings. The trial court granted both leaders bail on December 19, 2015.
