The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a Delhi special court that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi acquired complete ownership and Rs 2,000 crore worth assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of National Herald newspaper, by paying a mere Rs 50 lakh. 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 Rs 2,000 crore, they paid Rs 50 lakh,” the ASG highlighted. The submissions were made before Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne of Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court.
ED’s case stems from the complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, currently on the trial stage. The Special Court is hearing arguments about whether it should take cognisance of the 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 Rs 90 crore loan advanced by the Congress party to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) was assigned to Young Indian for a consideration of Rs 50 lakh. It has been alleged that there was misappropriation of assets of over Rs 2,000 crore in the controversial matter. In his private complaint, 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.