National Herald case: ED attaches 11-floor building in Bandra East, Mumbai for money laundering

In a big slap to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday attached the defunct National Herald newspaper company Associated Journal Limited (AJL)’s 11-floor building in Bandra East in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). AJL’s 99.3 percent shares are controlled by the dubious firm Young Indian, where Sonia and Rahul own 76 percent of the shares. Congress leadership bagged this prime property in 1983 in Bandra East for office and printing of National Herald’s Mumbai edition. By mid-2000, Congress leaders engaged in deals with real estate firms and managed to get an approval to build 9 floors and two basement floors.

Though the book value of the property is recorded at around Rs.17 crores, the market value is expected to be above Rs.500 crores. After filing a case against Sonia & Rahul in the trial court, petitioner and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy filed complaints to many agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the ED, the Urban Development Ministry, Income Tax and many State Governments against the massive properties of National Herald publishing company AJL, which is covertly grabbed by Sonia and Rahul controlled Young Indian.

The Haryana Government has transferred the probe to the CBI on Panchkula property saying that this is a massive fraud involving many states. The CBI has registered a case against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda and the AJL Managing Director and the then Congress Treasurer Motilal Vora and ED attached the plush property in Panchkula[1]. Bandra property attachment is the second attachment in the National Herald case. Maharashtra Government’s probe had proved many illegalities in the Bandra East land and involvement of Congress leaders in covertly handing over the newspaper company’s property to real estate sharks[2].

The ED found that Panchkula property was valued at Rs.120 crores and AJL took a loan from Syndicate Bank’s Delhi ITO Branch to build 11 floors in Bandra East property by top Congress leadership, who are the loyalists of Sonia Gandhi family. Income Tax has already charged Sonia and Rahul of tax evasion of more Rs. 414 crores and the case is presently pending in the Supreme Court[3]. The National Herald’s headquarters in Delhi – Herald House – is already facing eviction from Urban Development Ministry and the case is currently pending on appeal by Congress leadership in Supreme Court.

The main case filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in the trial court against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora, and other congress leaders is in the cross-examination phase.

References:

[1] ED attaches Rs.64 crores-worth Panchkula office of National Herald for money laundering – May 29, 2019, PGurus.com

[2] Plot for National Herald: Report points to violation of lease terms – Feb 10, 2016, Hindustan Times

[3] National Herald case: Read 105-page Income Tax Assessment Order against Young Indian exposing Rs.414 crores gain – Jan 22, 2018, PGurus.com