New Delhi: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has filed a new FIR in the National Herald case. The FIR names Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, along with six other names. This FIR was filed after ED headquarters filed a complaint with the EOW.
The FIR accuses them of criminal conspiracy. It alleges that they hatched a conspiracy to acquire the assets of The Associated Journal Ltd. Three companies are also named among the accused: AJL, Young India Ltd, and Dotex MPL. Dotex is described as a shell company registered in Kolkata and had given Rs 1 crore to Young India Ltd. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said in a post on X that the FIR is “neither new wine, nor a new bottle, nor a new glass.” He said, “This is a unique case where no money was transferred, nor was any immovable property transferred, yet a case of money laundering was discovered.”
The FIR takes cognizance of the allegations made in a letter sent by the ED to the EOW on September 4. The contents of the ED letter are similar to the claims made by the central agency in its charge sheet.
According to PTI, the ED invoked the powers available under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to file a police FIR. This section allows the federal agency to share evidence with a law enforcement agency registering a criminal case, so that it can register a money laundering case to further the investigation.
It should be noted that a case has already been filed against the National Herald. Here’s how the entire case unfolds:
The entire case dates back to 1937-38. At that time, a company called The Associated Journal was formed. One of the company’s investors was Jawaharlal Nehru. The remaining investors were associated with the Congress Party. Their number was around five thousand.
The Associated Journal began publishing three newspapers: National Herald, Navjeevan, and Qaumi Awaaz. Qaumi Awaaz was published in Urdu, National Herald in English, and Navjeevan in Hindi. The company stated that publishing all three newspapers was causing losses. Therefore, it ceased publication in 2008. During this period, the company also stated that it had incurred a debt of ₹90 crore.
To repay this debt, The Associated Journal borrowed ₹90 crore from the Congress Party. Former MP Subramanian Swamy says that no political party has any right to lend money to any company.
In 2010, during the UPA government, a new company was formed. It was named Young India Ltd. The major shareholders of this company were Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. These two held a 76 percent stake. Other shareholders included Motilal Bora, Oscar Fernandez, and Suman Dubey.
Swamy alleges that Young India Limited took over the assets of The Associated Journal. He also claims that Young India Limited took over all the assets The Associated Journal had accumulated between 1938 and 2008. It is also alleged that Young India Limited purchased the entire property for a mere ₹5 million. Swamy was the first to file a complaint in this matter in 2012.
The Congress Party has maintained that Young India Limited was formed for charitable purposes, not for profit.
