In a significant development in the high-profile National Herald money laundering case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a charge sheet against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with other key figures including Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey. The charge sheet was officially submitted on April 9 and is now under the review of Special Judge Vishal Gogne, who has scheduled the next court hearing on April 25, 2025, to examine the issue of taking cognisance.
This move follows the ED’s prior action of attaching assets valued at ₹661 crore across cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow. Notices have been pasted at key properties such as the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) building at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi, floors of Herald House in Mumbai occupied by Jindal South West Projects Ltd, and a property on Bisheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow. Rent from the attached properties has now been directed to be paid directly to the ED.
The case hinges on the alleged acquisition of AJL’s assets — valued at nearly ₹2,000 crore — by Young Indian, a company controlled by Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, for a mere ₹50 lakh. The ED claims this was part of a deliberate undervaluation scheme to gain control over lucrative properties and generate illicit income through fake donations, forged rental agreements, and inflated ad revenues — collectively amounting to ₹988 crore.
The roots of this probe trace back to a 2014 complaint by Subramanian Swamy, leading to the ED’s formal investigation in 2021. The agency believes this is a classic case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering, now escalating into a full-fledged legal battle for the Congress top brass.
