ED to take possession of ₹661 crore worth assets in National Herald case
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New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate Saturday said it has served notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore that it had attached as part of a money laundering probe linked to Congress-controlled National Herald newspaper and the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
The ED stated that it has submitted the necessary documents to the respective property registrars where the assets are situated. Notices have also been prominently affixed at key locations.
These notices primarily demand the vacation of the premises to facilitate their takeover by the ED.
The action was carried out under Section 8 and Rule 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which outlines the process for taking possession of assets attached by ED and subsequently confirmed by the PMLA's adjudicating authority.
The ED attached immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore, along with AJL shares valued at Rs 90.2 crore, in November 2023 to "secure the proceeds of crime and to prevent the accused from dissipating the same." This order was confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority in April last year.
According to the ED, the total "proceeds of crime" in the case amounted to Rs 988 crore.
The Congress had previously described the investigation as "petty vendetta tactics" and referred to the ED as a "coalition partner" of the BJP. The ED's probe commenced in 2021 after the Metropolitan Magistrate at Patiala House Courts in Delhi took cognisance of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on June 26, 2014.
The ED stated that the complaint underscored a "criminal conspiracy" involving several key political figures, including Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi, and late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes. Others named in the complaint include Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and the private company Young Indian. The allegations pertain to a money laundering scheme tied to the fraudulent acquisition of properties worth over Rs 2,000 crore owned by the AJL.
"The legal proceedings against the accused have faced challenges but have been upheld by both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India, allowing the investigation to proceed," the ED said.
AJL is the publisher of the National Herald news platform (newspaper and web portal), and it is owned by Young Indian Private Limited.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young India, with 38 per cent of shares held by each one of them. They were questioned for hours by the ED in this case a few years back.
The ED claimed its investigation has "conclusively" found that Young Indian, a private company "beneficially owned" by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, "acquired" AJL properties worth Rs 2,000 crore for a mere Rs 50 lakh, significantly undervaluing their worth.
"Young Indian and AJL properties were used for the generation of further proceeds of crime in the form of bogus donations to the tune of Rs 18 crore, bogus advance rent to the tune of Rs 38 crore and bogus advertisements of Rs 29 crore," the ED has alleged.
(inputs from PTI)
