New Delhi, Nov 30 (UNI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi has registered a fresh FIR based on a complaint from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others, alleging a criminal conspiracy and money laundering scheme amounting to approximately Rs 988 crore in the National Herald case.
The FIR, numbered 0124/2025, stems from an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the ED’s complaint, the accused, including Young Indian (YI), a private company, orchestrated a scheme to take over the assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper, valued at over Rs 2000 crore, for a mere Rs 50 lakhs.
The ED alleges that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who together hold 76 percent of shares in Young Indian, were the ultimate beneficiaries of this takeover.
The central allegation is that in 2010, a criminal conspiracy was hatched wherein the All India Congress Committee (AICC) assigned its right to recover a loan of Rs 90.21 crore from AJL to Young Indian for Rs 50 lakhs.
Subsequently, AJL converted this outstanding loan into equity shares, issuing over 9 crore shares to Young Indian, effectively granting it 99 percent ownership of AJL and its valuable real estate assets.
The ED’s investigation has further uncovered additional alleged offences, including the collection of Rs 18.12 crore in bogus donations by Young Indian to pay off a tax demand and the generation of Rs 38.41 crore in fake advance rents by AJL from various entities without any actual rental agreements.
The probe also questions the legitimacy of Rs 29.45 crore in advertising revenue claimed by AJL’s newspapers.
The total proceeds of crime, as quantified by the ED, include the value of the AJL shares (Rs 90.21 crore), the underlying immovable properties (Rs 755.15 crore), and rental income accrued since the takeover (Rs 142.67 crore), bringing the total to Rs 988.03 crore.
The agency has already attached AJL properties worth Rs 751.91 crore.
The case was initially triggered by a private complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy in 2013, with the Metropolitan Magistrate taking cognizance in 2014. The order was upheld by the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.
The ED has now shared its findings with the Delhi Police EOW under the PMLA, leading to the registration of this FIR for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust.
