NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday informed a Delhi court that a 'prima facie' case of money laundering has been established against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with others, in the ongoing National Herald case.
This submission was made before Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts during the preliminary arguments on whether the court should take cognisance of the matter.
In response, the judge directed the ED to provide BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who filed the private complaint leading to the case, with a copy of the chargesheet.
The court also scheduled daily hearings for the National Herald money laundering case from July 2 to 8, saying, "The matter shall be taken up on a daily basis from July 2 till July 8 for submissions on behalf of ED and the proposed accused."
At the start of the proceedings, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the Gandhis, requested more time to review the extensive case records and asked for the matter to be postponed until July.
However, the court allowed the ED to proceed with its opening statements on the same day.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju and Advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the ED, argued that the case involved proceeds of crime.
They also cited Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Section 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which addresses the crime of dishonestly receiving or retaining stolen property.
Hossain emphasised that Young Indian, a company linked to the accused, had no legitimate business activities except to benefit the accused.
He argued that the shares, assets, and rents involved were proceeds of crime, and that once shares were issued, they became property. Hossain further claimed that issuing shares of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) to Young Indian amounted to an offence of cheating.
The court questioned whether the shares were the derivatives of a scheduled offence, highlighting that only such derivatives could trigger money laundering.
Judge Gogne asked whether the alleged wrongful acts were attributable to individuals and whether the Congress party itself was a victim in this case.
Hossain clarified that the party donors, not the party itself, were the victims of the alleged fraud.
The court then pressed for further clarification on several aspects, asking whether the company or its shareholders owned the assets, and whether assets that were once clean in the hands of one party could become proceeds of crime once taken by another.
The case revolves around a Rs 90 crore loan provided by the Congress party to Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), which publishes the National Herald newspaper.
This loan was allegedly transferred to Young Indian for just Rs 50 lakh. Allegations claim that over Rs 2,000 crore in assets were misappropriated in a transaction involving equity.
In his private complaint, former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and others from the Gandhi family-controlled Young Indian of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, and misappropriation of property.
The ED had filed its prosecution complaint against the Gandhis, Pitroda, and others on April 15 this year, leading to the current legal proceedings.
