The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 751.90 crore as part of its investigation in a money laundering case against Congress-promoted National Herald newspaper and the companies linked to it, the agency said on Tuesday.
The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Ltd 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. The central agency claimed that a provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the AJL and Young Indian.
“Investigation revealed that Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) is in possession of proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties spread across many cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow to the tune of Rs 661.69 crore and Young Indian (YI) is in possession of proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 90.21 crore in the form of investment in equity shares of AJL,” the ED said in a statement.
The agency had earlier recorded the statements of Sonia, Rahul, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party leader Pawan Bansal and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar as part of the probe.
It may be noted that the ED move came amid the ongoing assembly elections in five states including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where the Congress party is in direct fight with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Responding to the central agency’s action on Tuesday, the grand old party said such “petty vendetta tactics” cannot frighten it.
“No BJP coalition partner – CBI, ED or I-T Department – can prevent the impending defeat of the BJP…. These petty vendetta tactics shall not frighten the Indian National Congress in any way,” party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said in a statement.
The ED launched its investigation on the basis of an order issued by Delhi’s Metropolitan Magistrate Court that took cognisance of a private complaint against alleged irregularities in the National Herald’s affairs on June 26, 2014.
The court had held that seven accused persons including the Young India had prima facie committed offences of criminal breach of trust (under Section 406 of IPC), cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property (under Section 420), dishonest misappropriation of property (under Section 403) and criminal conspiracy (under Section 120B), the agency said.
