National Herald case: Gandhis in trouble, ED finds 'suspicious transactions'
More trouble seems to be brewing for the Gandhis as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigating the National Herald case reportedly uncovered "major suspicious transactions" of the Congress-owned Young Indian (YI), News18 reported. The report claimed transactions totaling Rs. 4-5 crore were allegedly made using shell companies. Notably, the ED's findings came after it recorded statements of the owners, directors, and shareholders of these companies.
Why does this story matter?
The development comes two days after the ED issued a fresh summons to Karnakata Congress President DK Shivakumar in the case. The high-profile case came to light in 2013 when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint before a trial court. He accused top Congress leaders of cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of the newspaper's former publisher— Associated Journals Limited—by YI.
Gandhis, others will likely be summoned soon
According to News18, all of Young Indian's office bearers, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Bansal, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi, among others, will be summoned soon by the ED. They will almost certainly be confronted with evidence about the aforementioned suspicious transactions, it said. Notably, former Congress President Sonia and her son, Wayanad MP Rahul, are among the promoters and majority shareholders in YI.
Major raids conducted in August
As part of the ongoing investigation into the National Herald case, the ED conducted raids at Young Indian's Delhi office in August. At the Herald House building, the lengthy searches—which lasted more than six hours—were carried out in front of the party's current chief Kharge. Earlier, the summons issued to Kharge during a Parliamentary session had also drawn criticism from the grand old party.
Questioning of Gandhis by probe agency
Notably, the August raids were conducted following the questioning of former Congress chief Sonia for three days in July. In June, Rahul also appeared at the ED office for five days and reportedly answered hundreds of questions as part of its investigation into the case. Congress workers actively protested against the alleged misuse of the probe agency to attack opposition leaders at the time.
What do we know about the case?
The Gandhis are accused of fraud and theft of funds in the purchase of the newspaper. They are accused of obtaining National Herald assets by purchasing its former publisher Associated Journals Limited (AJL), through YI, in which they had an 86% share. Notably, the Ministry of Finance is also examining a tax evasion appeal in the case, which Congress claims was closed in 2015.
I-T Department also probing the case
To note, National Herald was a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru along with other freedom fighters in 1938. Separately, the Income Tax Department also began investigating the case earlier and issued a demand notice to YI for Rs. 249.15 crore for the fiscal year 2011-12.
