ED May Name Congress As Accused In National Herald Case, Agency Tells Court
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday made a significant submission in a Delhi special court, stating that it has not ruled out making the Indian National Congress a formal accused in the National Herald money laundering case if the investigation warrants it.
“I have not made the AICC (All India Congress Committee) an accused, but it does not deprive me of my right to make them an accused in the future. If we find adequate evidence, we can make them an accused as well,” Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju told the court on behalf of the ED.
The statement came as the special court began day-to-day hearings in the high-profile case. The ED reiterated its core allegation that Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi, were central to a “conspiracy” to usurp assets worth Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.
The agency argued that Young Indian, a company in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi hold a 76% stake, was created as a “sham” entity. It alleged this company was used to acquire control over AJL’s vast real estate assets by taking over a Rs 90 crore loan, which the Congress party had given to AJL, for a payment of just Rs 50 lakh.
ASG Raju further told the court that even advertisement revenue paid to AJL was directed by senior Congress leaders, and therefore, any income generated from this “fraudulent incorporation” should be considered proceeds of crime.
The ED had previously, on May 21, told the court that the Gandhis had enjoyed “proceeds of crime” worth Rs 142 crore in the case. The agency’s charge sheet, which values the total proceeds of crime at Rs 988 crore, names several senior Congress leaders, including the Gandhis, Sam Pitroda, and Suman Dubey, as accused. The case revolves around the central allegation that public trusts were illicitly converted into personal assets.
