National Herald case: ED says Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi paid ₹50 lakh for properties worth ₹2,000 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a Delhi court that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi acquired complete ownership of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of National Herald newspaper, by paying a mere ₹50 lakh though the newspaper has a real estate value of more than ₹2,000 crores. 

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju said that AJL owns properties in Delhi, Lucknow, Bhopal, Indore, Panchkula, Patna and other places, and all these properties have been provided by the Central government and various State governments after 1947 for newspaper printing and publishing.

However, soon after taking over AJL, Young Indian (an entity controlled by the Gandhis) declared that it would not indulge in any newspaper publishing including the National Herald, Raju said.

“To take over the entire company of ₹2000 crores, they paid  ₹50 lakhs,” the ASG highlighted. 

The submissions were made before Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court. 

The Court is hearing arguments about whether it should take cognisance of ED’s prosecution complaint in the National Herald money laundering case. 

During the hearing, the ASG also said close associates of Gandhis were appointed directors of AJL and that fraudulent transactions were done to funnel money. 

The hearing will continue on Thursday.

The National Herald case involves allegation that a ₹90-crore loan advanced by the Congress party to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) was assigned to Young Indian for a consideration of ₹50 lakh. It has been alleged that there was misappropriation of assets of over ₹2,000 crore in an equity transaction.

In his private complaint, former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and Gandhi family-controlled Young Indian of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of property.

The ED filed a prosecution complaint against the Gandhis as well as Pitroda and others on April 15 this year.