National Herald Case: All you need to know

India Today

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet in the National Herald case, alleging that Rs 142 crore of 'proceeds of crime' were used for personal gain by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. The case, originating from a complaint by Subramanian Swamy, involves the sale of National Herald newspaper to Young India Limited, a company where the Gandhis hold majority shares. The ED has served notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow as part of the money laundering probe.

Transcript

00:00After the ED filed its charge sheet in the National Herald case,

00:03it's also leveled grave allegations against Rahul and Sonia Gandhi,

00:07claiming 142 crores of proceeds of crime were used for personal gain.

00:11Let's break down all the details of the case for you.

00:14Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi face charges of money laundering.

00:18This is in a 10-year-old case filed against them by the ED,

00:22based on a complaint by Subramanian Swami.

00:24It pertains to the sale of the National Herald newspaper

00:27to a company owned by the Gandhis.

00:30And the ED is currently probing the shareholding pattern,

00:33the financial transactions and the role of party functionaries.

00:37So let's begin by telling you about National Herald.

00:40The National Herald was a newspaper that was founded by Jawaharlal Nehru

00:44along with other freedom fighters back in 1938.

00:48It was meant to voice the concerns of the Liberal Brigade in the Indian National Congress.

00:54Published by Associated Journals Limited or AJL,

00:57this newspaper became essentially a mouthpiece of the Congress Party after independence.

01:02But in 2008, the paper closed down with a debt of over 90 crores.

01:07Now here's where it gets interesting.

01:09The AJL, as I mentioned, is Associated Journals Limited,

01:12got a loan of 90 crores from the Congress Party.

01:16And this was a zero interest loan, repeatedly to revive the National Herald.

01:22Enter Young India Limited, a company that was set up in 2010 with Rahul Gandhi as a director.

01:29So while Rahul and his mother Sonia Gandhi hold 76% of the company's shares,

01:34the remaining 24% are held by Congress leaders Motilal Vohra and Oscar Fernandez.

01:41So Young India bought National Herald from AJL.

01:44And it is this deal that's under the scanner.

01:47Why?

01:48Well, Young India Limited took over National Herald,

01:51which also meant assets worth a whopping 2,000 crore plus.

01:55And Young India Limited only curiously paid 50 lakhs to obtain the rights

02:01to recover 90.25 crores, which AJL owed the Congress Party.

02:07So essentially, if I were to simplify that,

02:09the loan given by Congress had been transferred to a company owned by the Gandhis.

02:14Public money converted to personal use.

02:17And that's why on 1st November 2012,

02:20Subramanian Swami filed a private complaint in a court in Delhi,

02:23alleging that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have committed fraud

02:27and land grabbing, worth 160 crores,

02:30referring to the assets of AJL.

02:32He claimed that through this fraud,

02:34they had got the publication rights of the National Herald,

02:36along with real estate properties in Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

02:40On 7th December 2015,

03:01the Delhi High Court ordered Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and five others

03:05to appear in person before the trial court on 9th December,

03:09which they ignored.

03:10The Gandhis didn't turn up,

03:11but a trial court then ordered them to appear in person on 19th December.

03:16Rahul and Sonia finally appeared in court and they were granted bail.

03:20Years later, in 2022,

03:27Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were questioned for several days in the case.

03:31Rahul Gandhi was questioned for nearly 55 hours by the CBI and the ED

03:36over the alleged corruption and financial irregularities involving this newspaper.

03:41100% political vendetta,

03:45pure political vendetta coming out of the PM office.

03:47This is what this is.

03:49This is their way of doing politics.

03:51Pure 100% vendetta.

03:53Full faith.

03:54I have full faith in the legal system of this country.

03:57The ED is now moving forward swiftly with its probe.

04:01On April 12th,

04:02the ED served notices to take possession of immovable assets

04:05worth 661 crores in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow.

04:09It had attached some of these properties as part of the money laundering probe.

04:14With the charge sheet being filed now,

04:16it paves the way for a trial against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.

Category

Transcript

Recommended