The Enforcement Directorate said on Saturday it has served notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore attached as part of a money laundering probe linked to Congress-controlled National Herald newspaper and the Associated Journals Limited (AJL). The ED said in a statement that it has served the relevant documents to the respective registrar of properties where the assets are located.

Simultaneously, notices were affixed on Friday at “conspicuous places in these properties” located at Herald House at ITO (5A, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg) in Delhi, Bandra(E) area (Plot No. 2, Survey No 341) in Mumbai and the AJL building on Bisheshwar Nath Road (Property No.1) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The notices primarily seek vacation of the premises to be taken over by the ED.

 “A notice... has also been served to Jindal South West Projects Limited which occupies the 7th, 8th and 9th floors at Herald House, Bandra (E), Mumbai, to transfer the rent/lease amount every month in favour of the Director, Directorate of Enforcement,” it said. ED initiated money laundering case against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi after a court issued them summons in a petition filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who accused them of usurping the assets of National Herald newspaper by floating a private firm Young Indian.

Young Indian is a private limited company wherein Sonia and Rahul have 38 per cent share. In 2010, Young Indian acquired 99.9 per cent shares of Associated Journals Limited, publisher of National Herald newspaper that has properties across India. Subramanian Swamy alleged that Sonia and Rahul had floated the shell firm Young Indian to acquire AJL assets through dubious ways. The ED had questioned Sonia and Rahul for five days each in 2022.

 The action has been taken under Section (8) and Rule 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that deals with the procedure for possession of assets attached by the ED and then confirmed by the adjudicating authority (of PMLA). These immovable assets valued around `661 crore, apart from shares of AJL worth `90.2 crore, were attached by the ED in November 2023 to “secure proceeds of crime and to prevent the accused from dispensing with the same”. The Adjudicating Authority confirmed this order in April last year. According to the ED, “proceeds of crime” in the case totalled `988 crore.

 The Congress had earlier termed the investigation “petty vendetta tactics” and dubbed the ED a “coalition partner” of the ruling BJP. The ED investigation began in 2021 after the Metropolitan Magistrate in Patiala House Courts here took cognisance of a private complaint filed by Swamy on June 26, 2014.

 The complaint, the ED said, highlighted a “criminal conspiracy” by a few prominent political figures, including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, her MP son Rahul Gandhi, apart from late Party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes and also Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and a private company Young Indian to come up with a money laundering scheme for alleged fraudulent takeover of properties valued over `2,000 crore belonging to 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.

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 `2,000 crore for a mere Rs 50 lakh, significantly undervaluing their worth. “Young Indian and AJL properties were used to further generate proceeds of crime in the form of bogus donations to the tune of `18 crore, bogus advance rent to the tune of `38 crore and bogus advertisements of `29 crore,” said the ED.