By News18
A special court in Delhi began daily hearings on Wednesday in the money laundering case linked to the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.
The high-profile case, involving Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, is being heard by a special CBI judge, Vishal Gogne.
Additional Solicitor General V Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said that the Congress party wanted to usurp the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which had assets worth Rs 2,000 crore. The ASG said the conspiracy was hatched at the behest of the Congress party by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.
The AJL used to publish the National Herald newspaper, founded by former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Raju said that a conspiracy was hatched to form Young Indian, in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi held 76% shares, to siphon away Rs 2,000 crore assets for a Rs 90 crore loan taken from Congress.
The ED said that even advertisement money was paid to the AJL on the instructions of senior Congress leaders. Whatever income that was generated from this fraudulent incorporation is the proceeds of crime, it added.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Enjoyed Rs 142 Cr Of Proceeds Of Crime: ED
During the previous hearing on May 21, the ED said that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have enjoyed Rs 142 crore of 鈥減roceeds of crime鈥 linked to the alleged National Herald money laundering case.
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.
What Is National Herald Case?
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 鈥 in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are majority stakeholders 鈥 acquired control over the newspaper鈥檚 vast assets through a 鈥渕alicious鈥 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
(With inputs from IANS)