National Herald Case: ED Files Chargesheet Against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi

Money Laundering Allegations

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with others, for alleged money laundering in the National Herald case. This move comes after the ED’s decision to seize properties worth Rs 661 crore linked to the case.

Chargesheet Details

• The chargesheet was filed on April 9 and will be considered by special judge Vishal Gogne on April 25.
• Congress leader Sam Pitroda and journalist Suman Dubey are also named as accused in the chargesheet.

On Saturday, the ED served notices to take possession of properties in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow that were attached as part of a money-laundering investigation against the National Herald newspaper.

Property Attachment and Young Indian Private Limited

• The properties were attached in November 2023 through a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
• The case was filed against the newspaper’s publisher, Associated Journals Limited, and its holding company, Young Indian Private Limited.
• Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian, holding 38% of its shares each.

The ED stated that the properties were attached to secure the proceeds of crime and prevent the accused from dissipating the same.

Congress Leader’s Response

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called the seizure of National Herald’s assets a “state-sponsored crime masquerading as the rule of law”. He added that the chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi was “nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the PM and the HM gone completely berserk”.

Background of the Allegations

• The National Herald, founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru, suspended operations in April 2008 due to a debt of over Rs 90 crore.
• BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint in 2012, alleging that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi set up Young Indian Private Limited to buy the debt using party funds.
• Swamy claimed that Young Indian paid only Rs 50 lakh to recover Rs 90.2 crore that Associated Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

The Congress has maintained that there was no money exchange and that only debt was converted into equity to pay off certain dues, including employee salaries.