National Herald case: ED conducts raids at about dozen locations

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi face investigation in the National Herald money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was on Tuesday conducting raids at about a dozen locations in connection with the National Herald money laundering case in which Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi face investigation, officials familiar with the matter said.

The searches were launched a week after Sonia Gandhi was questioned for almost 11 hours over three days in the case. (HT PHOTO)

The officials said the searches were on to collect documentary evidence relevant to ED’s probe in the case. The searches were launched a week after Sonia Gandhi was questioned for almost 11 hours over three days about her day-to-day role in Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI), its funding, and the takeover of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL). Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over 50 hours over five days in June.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the raids are a part of the continued attack against India’s principal opposition party -- Indian National Congress. “We strongly condemn this vendetta politics against those who speak up against the Modi Govt. You cannot silence us!” he tweeted.

Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, founded AJL in November 1937 and it published the National Herald, Qaumi Awaz (Urdu) and Navjeevan (Hindi).

ED is looking into suspected misuse of Congress’s funds to take over AJL through YI, which resulted in the acquisition of all immovable properties of AJL as well, as part of its money laundering probe against the Gandhi family.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy first levelled the allegations. He filed a private complaint in November 2012 in a court in Delhi claiming the Gandhis committed fraud and misused party funds to purchase the company that ran National Herald newspaper.

Swamy claimed that by acquiring AJL through a new company, YI, Gandhis also acquired properties worth several hundred crores owned by AJL in cities such as Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna, Panchkula and Delhi.

The Congress has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing and argued that the plea was “misconceived and premature” because no agency found any proof of illegality.