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National Herald case: ED attaches part of nine-storey Mumbai building, Congress slams move
The ED has alleged that the building was built with money associated with proceeds of crime.
The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday “partially” attached a nine-storey building in Bandra (Mumbai) worth ₹16.38 crore, in connection with its money laundering probe involving Associated Journals Limited (AJL), a company controlled by the Gandhi family and the publishers of the National Herald newspaper.
ED said it has attached a part of the building, which has been established as “proceeds of crime” and notices regarding the attachment under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) have been issued to AJL and veteran Congress leader Moti Lal Vora, who happens to be the chairman and managing director of the company.
The nine-floor building, located at plot number 2, Survey number 341, near Kala Nagar in Bandra (East), has two basements and a total built up area of 15,000 square meters and its total value is around ₹120 crore.
Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been named as an accused in the case and both Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED have chargesheeted him in 2018 and 2019 respectively, along with Vora.
Also Read: ED files charges against senior Congress leaders in National Herald case
The ED has alleged that Hooda and Vora used proceeds of crime in the form of a plot – number C-17, Sector 6, Panchkula, allotted illegally to AJL and pledged it to avail loan from the Syndicate Bank branch on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi to construct this building in Bandra.
“Thus, the said asset at Mumbai that germinated out of the proceeds of crime has been attached to the extent of ₹16.38 crore. Further investigation is going on,” the agency said in a statement. The Panchkula plot has already been attached by the agency.
The money laundering probe was based on allegations that the property was allotted to AJL in the year 1982 but was withdrawn by the Estate Officer, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) a decade later on October 30, 1992, since AJL did not comply with the conditions of allotment.
“However, Hooda blatantly misused his official position and dishonestly allotted the said plot afresh in the guise of re-allotment to the AJL at original rates plus interest in violation of necessary conditions and policy of HUDA by an order of August 28, 2005, for ₹59,39,200,” ED has claimed. The actual value of the property (Panchkula) is about ₹64.93 crore, it said.
The anti money laundering probe agency has further stated that Hooda, as the then CM, caused wrongful loss to HUDA and wrongful gain to AJL by ignoring legal opinion and recommendations of HUDA officers and financial commissioner and principal secretary, Town and Country Planning.
The agency also said it found that Hooda, thrice granted undue extensions to AJL for construction on the said plot, and after acquisition projected it as untainted property and further acquired loans from the bank by way of mortgaging the same from time to time.
Reacting to the development, senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “This is a part of the continuing governmental tirade against National Herald. Since the primary allegations against National Herald are baseless, such attachment orders are equally baseless and untenable. They will be suitably challenged by proper legal recourse. There is also a continuing process of spreading misinformation by authorities in this regard. The government would be far better advised to use its energies to battle Covid instead of such wasteful exercises.”
