The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth over 751 crore rupees belonging to Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL), as part of its money laundering probe into the National Herald case. In a social media post, the agency said, the investigation revealed that Associated Journals Ltd. (AJL) is in possession of proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties spread across many cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow to the tune of 661.69 crore rupees.
ED also said, the Young Indian (YI) is in possession of proceeds of crime to the tune of 90.21 crore rupees in the form of investment in equity shares of AJL. The agency said, a provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 against the newspaper’s publisher Associated Journals Ltd., and its holding company Young Indian. The Enforcement Directorate had earlier questioned and recorded the statements of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi regarding the case. The case is based on a private complaint by BJP’s Subramanian Swamy in a Delhi court in 2013. The complaint alleged cheating and misappropriation of funds on the part of the Gandhis in acquiring the newspaper. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were granted bail in the case by the trial court in December 2015.