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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took action on Saturday, April 12, to confiscate immovable assets valued at ₹661 crore that belonged to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), a business under the ownership of the Congress party, in a significant development in the National Herald money laundering case.
The federal investigation agency acknowledged in an official statement that it had posted seizure orders at several important AJL properties, such as the AJL building on Bisheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow, the Herald House at ITO in Delhi, and properties in Bandra, Mumbai.
What the ED Has Ordered
The ED’s notices require the property to be vacated or, if necessary, the rent payments to be transferred to the agency; this is especially true for the Mumbai property.
Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi jointly possess more than 75% of the shares in Young Indian (YI), a firm that is connected to the money laundering case involving AJL, according to the financial investigation agency.
Background of the Case
The transfer of AJL’s ownership to Young Indian is at the center of the National Herald case. According to the ED, this was done in order to obtain properties worth several hundred crores for a small portion of their true value by allegedly unlawful ways. The AJL had substantial real estate holdings in a number of prestigious cities and was first founded to print the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.
The foundation of the ED’s case is the claim that the Congress party gave Associated Journals Limited (AJL) interest-free loans totaling more than ₹90 crore. Young Indian Pvt. Ltd. (YI), a business owned by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, then bought 99 percent of AJL’s stock, thereby taking over the business. Through this acquisition, Young Indian allegedly gained control of prime properties valued at hundreds of crores, in violation of laws governing charitable organizations and public assets, as AJL was originally established for publishing the National Herald newspaper and not for commercial gain.
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