In a significant development in the National Herald case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday claimed that several senior Congress leaders made 'fake transactions,' which 'exist only on paper,' towards Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the company linked to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Additional Solicitor General V Raju, appearing for the ED in the Delhi court, claimed that individuals were making fraudulent advance rent payments over several years. According to the ED, the rent receipts were fabricated, and the funds were transferred to AJL at the direction of senior Congress leaders.
Additionally, the ED claims that advertising funds were funneled to AJL under similar instructions from top Congress leaders. Therefore, any revenue generated through such deceptive means is being treated as proceeds of crime.
Rahul and Sonia were the actual beneficiaries till 2015
The ED also questioned why certain donors, influential individuals, and senior party members, who made these alleged rent payments, should not also be treated as accused if their money constitutes proceeds of crime.
The ED further pointed out questionable share transactions, claiming, "Suman Dubey transferred shares to Sonia Gandhi, another Oscar Fernandes transferred shares to Rahul Gandhi, who later returned them to Fernandes. These are all fake transactions, existing only on paper and lacking any real economic substance."
According to the agency, as of 2015, only two people, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, were the actual beneficiaries, with full control over the company.
Court: Are items like rent and advertisement money also being classified as proceeds of crime (POC)?
SG: Yes, any asset obtained through fraudulent means qualifies as POC under the law.
Court: But the ED has not clearly categorised all such items as POC. For instance, rent is split into two figures, Rs 29 crore and Rs 142 crore. While the Rs 142 crore has been labelled POC, the Rs 29 crore hasn't.
Court: We are raising this because some of the donors you are claiming gave fake contributions are not only from the same political party but are also prominent figures. If donations and advance rent are considered POC, shouldn't these individuals also be named as respondents?
ED: We are still investigating whether assets qualify as POC from the moment of acquisition or at a later stage.
Court: Our intention is simply to understand what the ED currently identifies as POC, and what it doesn't.
ED: As of now, we are treating these amounts as POC. We are continuing our investigation, and further details will be included in a supplementary chargesheet which we intend to file in due course.
What is the National Herald case?
The National Herald was a newspaper launched by Jawaharlal Nehru and fellow freedom fighters in 1938. It was founded with an aim to represent the views of the liberal faction within the Indian National Congress. Published by Associated Journals Limited, the newspaper evolved into a key mouthpiece for the Congress party post-Independence. In addition to the English daily, AJL also brought out Hindi and Urdu publications. However, by 2008, the National Herald ceased operations after being burdened with debts exceeding Rs 90 crore.
The controversy surrounding its assets gained momentum in 2012 when BJP leader and lawyer Subramanian Swamy lodged a complaint in a trial court. He alleged that certain Congress leaders had committed cheating and breach of trust in the process of acquiring AJL. According to Swamy, the firm Young Indian Ltd had acquired control over the National Herald's assets through what he termed a "malicious" takeover.
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