Probe Agency Takes Action On Key Properties In Congress-Linked Herald Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday said it has issued notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore that it had attached in a probe into the money laundering case against Congress-controlled Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

The notices, which seek vacation of the premises, were affixed at the Herald House at ITO in Delhi, at the premises in Bandra area of Mumbai and the AJL building located at Bisheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow on Friday, the central agency said in a statement.

The action has been taken under Section (8) and Rule 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED, the central agency which investigates financial crimes, attached these immovable assets in November 2023.

“These properties were attached after extensive investigation by ED which revealed signification generation, possession and use of proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 988 crore. Therefore, to secure the proceeds of crime and to prevent the accused from dissipating the same, the immovable properties of AJL located at Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow valued at Rs. 661 crore along-with the shares of AJL valued at 90.2 crores were attached by issuing provisional attachment order (PAO) dated 20.11.2023 by the Directorate of Enforcement and the same has been confirmed by the Ld. Adjudicating Authority on 10.04.2024,” said the agency.

The investigation by the ED into the case began in 2021, on the basis of an order issued on June 26, 2014, by the Metropolitan Magistrate Patiala House Courts in New Delhi. The case is based on a private complaint filed by BJP’s Subramanian Swamy.

The complaint alleged a criminal conspiracy by several prominent political figures, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and a host of other Congress leaders and a private company Young Indian for alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme related to the fraudulent takeover of properties valued over Rs 2000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

The National Herald is published by AJL and owned by Young Indian Private Limited. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are majority shareholders of Young Indian with 38 per cent shares held by each one of them.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated proceedings to seize assets worth over Rs 700 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), a company linked to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, in connection with the National Herald case. The properties include prime locations in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow, notably the Herald House in Delhi.