In the high-profile National Herald case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is leaving no stone unturned and has given formal notice of taking possession of movable assets to the tune of Rs 661 crore. Those previously attached in November 2023 under the Prevention Of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), a company under the control of the Indian National Congress. The ongoing probe links senior members of Congress including former party chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress Lok Sabha leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi as the accused.
On Saturday, the ED issued an official statement asserting that it had served possession notices on the three properties, namely Herald House at ITO in Delhi, the office of AJL in the Bandra area of Mumbai and the AJL building on Bisheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow. The notices affixed to the premises on Friday call for vacation of premises in Delhi and Lucknow. The Mumbai building has already an alternative arrangement, that is, the current tenant would have to transfer excess rental money directly to the agency; ED has offered this alternative to it.
It is in regard to the procedure to take possession of properties after the attachment thereof, having been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority, where the attachment comes under Section 8 and Rule 5(1) of the PMLA. The ED is claimant that the irregularities took place regarding the finances of AJL and its parent body Young Indian Private Limited’, where Sonia Gandhi (40 per cent) and Rahul Gandhi (38 per cent) are each majority stakeholders.
AJL is in the middle of this money laundering probe with its National Herald newspaper established by Jawaharlal Nehru. According to the ED, the assets, which were supposed to be used for journalistic purposes, were misused for commercial gain. The case has been described by Congress as politically motivated, and the legal proceedings are going on.
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