New Delhi, Jul 2: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a court here that the Congress party wanted to usurp around Rs 2,000 crore assets of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, representing the ED, submitted before the Rouse Avenue Court that a conspiracy was hatched to form Young Indian Ltd -- in which Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are majority stakeholders -- to acquire control over the newspaper's vast assets aimed at benefiting the party leadership personally.

ASG Raju added that several senior Congress leaders were involved in "fake transactions” made to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the original publisher of the National Herald. According to the ED, individuals were making fraudulent advance rent payments over several years at the direction of senior Congress functionaries with fabricated rent receipts.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne is handling the alleged National Herald money laundering case on a day-to-day basis, hearing submissions on behalf of the Central agency and the proposed accused, including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Congress Overseas Chief Sam Pitroda, and Suman Dubey.

In an earlier hearing, ASG Raju had claimed that the Gandhis have enjoyed Rs 142 crore of “proceeds of crime” and continued to derive benefits from it until the ED attached National Herald assets. As per the ED, the accused committed money laundering not only when they acquired the “proceeds of crime" but also when they continued to hold it. Before this, the Rouse Avenue Courts had asked the Gandhis and others accused to show cause as to why cognisance should not be taken on ED’s prosecution complaint filed against them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The charge sheet claimed that the Congress leadership had misappropriated property belonging to the AJL by converting public trusts into personal assets.

The National Herald, a newspaper established by Jawaharlal Nehru and other prominent leaders in 1938, was originally aimed at representing the liberal voice within the Congress. Published by AJL, the National Herald was a critical tool for Congress during the freedom struggle and post-independence years. Alongside the English publication, the AJL also published newspapers in Hindi and Urdu.

However, the paper ceased operations in 2008 due to mounting debts exceeding Rs 90 crore. The controversy over its assets came into focus in 2012 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint in a trial court, alleging that Congress leaders had engaged in cheating and breach of trust in the process of acquiring AJL.

In the course of the investigation, the ED found that the accused, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, used Young Indian to acquire AJL’s assets at a nominal price of Rs 50 lakh. The probe agency claimed that Young Indian, beneficially owned by the Gandhis, effectively took control of AJL's properties while undervaluing their market worth.

In November 2023, the ED attached immovable properties valued at Rs 661 crore and AJL shares worth Rs 90.2 crore, terming them suspected proceeds of crime.

(IANS)

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