New Delhi . The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case on Thursday said before a special court in Delhi that this is “a classic case of money laundering”, in which former Congress president Sonia Gandhi (Sonia Gandhi) and Rahul Gandhi are the main accused. According to the ED, Young Indian Private Limited was allegedly used to get assets of Rs 2,000 crore from Associated Journal Limited (AJL). According to the ED, Sonia and Rahul Gandhi had a 76% stake in Young Indian Private Limited. Today, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi can keep their arguments on this matter.
Earlier, while continuing his argument on the cognizance of the charge sheet in front of Special Judge Vishal Gogan, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju said that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were “beneficial owners” of ‘Young Indian’ and they gained 100 percent control after the death of other shareholders. He argued that, “This is a classic case in which the crime of money laundering is clearly formed.” He requested the court to take cognizance of the charge sheet.
They were puppets of Gandhi family- ASG
The ASG claimed that “both these persons controlled the All India Congress Committee and then the same committee gave AJL an interest-free loan of Rs 90 crore. AJL was a company with a property worth Rs 2,000 crore, which published the National Herald newspaper. The loan was aimed at acquiring assets worth Rs 2,000 crore.” He alleged that the acquisition of AJL’s property by Young Indian was fraudulent, which had full consent and involvement of the Gandhi family. He said, “Other directors were only named, they were puppets of the Gandhi family.”
Underlining the role of other accused, the ASG said that Suman Dubey was one of the directors of ‘Young Indian’, who transferred 550 shares to Sonia Gandhi. Raju argued, “(by Dubey) shareholding was only for name. He was a puppet of the Gandhi family. Without their collusion, this fake transactions could not be done. ”
Sam Pitroda also mentioned
He said that the accused Sam Pitroda had demanded a conversion letter, Dotex Merchandise Private Limited had assisted in earning the income of crime by giving fake loans and Sunil Bhandari was responsible for the operation of the functioning of the dotex. Raju said that this is a accurate case in terms of legal, in which a case of money is made against all the accused. He said, “I request you to take cognizance.” The Enforcement Directorate alleged on July 2 that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi wanted to grab the property of AJL. Raju had said that a conspiracy was hatched to create Young Indian Private Limited, with 76 percent shares of the Gandhi family to grab the property of AJL.
“Got the wrong way”
According to the Enforcement Directorate, the Congress gave AJL without interest loan of Rs 90 crore, while in return, Young Indian invested only Rs 50 lakh and converted that debt into share capital and gained authority over assets of Rs 2,000 crore. Raju said, “He deprived other AJL shareholders of his rights. Young Indian wrongly benefited and the real shareholders were damaged.”
Court question
The court questioned whether all 1,000 shareholders of AJL have been investigated, and should they not be made witnesses? The judge said, “This case is a bit unusual. If the shareholders are not made witnesses, how will the lawsuit go?” ASG replied, “The record speaks on its own. Removing the curtain, the real convicts are the seven people (including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi). Today Sonia and Rahul Gandhi own almost all the shares and they are the same.”
The ED had filed a charge sheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others under Section 3 (Dhan Laundering) and 4 (punishment for money refinement) of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED has accused Sonia Gandhi, late Congress leader Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, besides Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda and private company Young Indian of cheating properties worth more than Rs 2,000 crore related to AJL in connection with cheating. The charge sheet includes the names of Sonia, Rahul, Dubey, Pitroda, Bhandari, Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited. The hearing will also continue on 4 July. Now senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi will present arguments on behalf of Sonia Gandhi in the court on Friday.
