National Herald case: ED attaches assets worth Rs 751 crore of Congress-linked companies

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday attached properties worth Rs 751.9 crore in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper.

In April 2008, the newspaper, which was founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru, before he became India’s first prime minister, suspended operations as it had incurred a debt of over Rs 90 crore.

The case against the newspaper is based on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy who accused Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi of setting up the Young Indian Private Limited company to buy the debt using the funds from the party.

In his complaint before a trial court, Swamy accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate the funds. He has alleged that the Young Indian firm paid only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that the Associated Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

The central agency, on Tuesday, issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against the newspaper’s publisher Associated Journals Limited and its holding company Young Indian.

The Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating the case, alleged that Associated Journals Limited is in possession of proceeds of crime in the form of immovable properties spread across India to the tune...

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