The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth around Rs 752 crore in a money-laundering probe against the Congress-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper, prompting the party to allege “vendetta politics” by the Modi government to divert attention from certain defeat in the ongoing state elections.
A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the newspaper’s publisher, Associated Journals Ltd, and its holding company Young Indian, an ED official said on Tuesday.
ED sources said that among the list of properties attached by the agency are National Herald House in Delhi, Nehru Bhavan in Lucknow and National Herald House in Mumbai.
“The investigation has revealed that Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) is in possession of proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 661.69 crore in the form of immovable properties spread across many cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow. Young Indian is in possession of proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs 90.21 crore in the form of investment in equity shares of AJL,” the official said.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said reports of attachment of AJL properties by the ED “reflects their desperation to divert attention from certain defeat in the ongoing elections in each state”.
“This is a prefabricated structure of deceit, lies and falsehood, of by and for the BJP, to divert, distract and digress in the middle of elections. These petty vendetta tactics shall not frighten the Indian National Congress in any way,” Singhvi said.
Singhvi said PMLA action can only be consequential to some predicate or main offence. “There is no transfer of any immovable property. There is no movement of money. There are no proceeds of crime. Indeed, there is no complainant who claims to have been cheated; not a single one,” he said.
Singhvi added: “No BJP coalition partner — CBI, ED or IT — can prevent certain impending defeat of the BJP. An assignment of loan without transfer of any immovable property or movement of money is being dressed up to justify attachment and freezing of assets of a company which runs an iconic voice of the Indian Independence movement — the National Herald — only because it is linked to the Congress party and its legacy.”
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said the ED action was aimed at “defaming the Congress in pursuance of the PM’s politics of vendetta and vengeance”.
Earlier, the ED had questioned and recorded the statements of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge in the case.
In August last year, the ED had raided the head office of the National Herald newspaper in Delhi in connection with the money-laundering probe.
Herald House on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in the capital is the registered office address of the National Herald newspaper, whose publisher AJL is under probe by the ED over its acquisition by Young Indian. The Gandhis are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.
Jawaharlal Nehru had founded the National Herald in 1937.
The ED registered the case under criminal provisions of the PMLA on a complaint from BJP politician Subramanian Swamy a decade ago.
Swamy has accused Sonia, Rahul and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, alleging Young Indian paid Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that AJL owed the Congress.
