The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case against Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice President Rahul Gandhi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the National Herald controversy.
On 26 June 2014, a trial court in Delhi, following Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy’s complaint, summoned both the senior leaders of Congress. In the complaint, Swamy accused both of cheating and misappropriation of funds during the acquisition of ownership of the now-defunct English daily, National Herald.
Apart from Sonia and Rahul, Congress Treasurer Moti Lal Vora, General Secretary Oscar Fernandes and Suman Dubey were also named in the case. All of them moved the High Court against the trial summons in July 2014. The High Court stayed the trial court judgement.
We have registered an ECIR, which is equivalent to an FIR, in the Herald case. We sought legal opinion before filing the case.
— Enforcement Directorate Officer
The Quint has also learnt that the Enforcement Directorate sought a legal opinion in August on this high profile case. The legal opinion said that the ED can register a PMLA case in the National Herald matter since the court has already taken cognizance of the case, but the agency has to follow in the footsteps of the trial court proceedings. The ED cannot summon or attach any property till the time that there is a stay in the matter by the High Court.
We can summon or attach property in the case only after the stay in the matter is removed by the High Court. Right now our hands are tied.
— Enforcement Directorate Officer
In the petition filed in the lower court in Delhi, Subramanian Swamy has accused Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as well as other confidantes of the Gandhi family of taking over the company through fraudulent means to make a real estate acquisition worth over Rs 2,000 crore. The publishing company for National Herald, Associated Journal, has huge real estate in different cities like New Delhi, Lucknow, Panchkula, Indore and Mumbai.
Earlier, the magistrate of the trial court, while summoning the senior Congress leaders, in its observation said, “Complainant has established a prima facie case against the accused under section 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) read with section 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC.”
What is the National Herald Case?
Subramanian Swamy has alleged that Sonia and Rahul launched a private non-profit company called Young India in March 2011. Holding 38 percent shares each, Rahul and Sonia had the specific aim of taking over the liabilities of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL). AJL owned the National Herald and its Urdu version, Qaumi Awaz. The two newspapers had folded up in April 2008.
Young India took over AJL’s liabilities of Rs 90.21 crore by paying Rs 50 lakh; Congress paid the entire amount. It is also alleged that another Rs 1crore was spent by Young India to renovate the newspaper’s headquarters, Herald House, on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi. Congress funded this as well, putting it down as a loan.
In the petition, Swamy has also alleged that Young India was created as a sham transaction to convert public money to personal use by acquiring control over the assets of AJL worth over Rs 2,000 crore.
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