'Young Indian, A Congress Front, Made Wrongful Gains': ED's Charge Against Gandhis In AJL Case

News18

a day ago

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The Enforcement Directorate told the court that the Gandhis committed a massive fraud by wrongfully transferring 99% of AJL's shares to Young Indian, sidelining major shareholders.
The not-for-profit company Young Indian (YI), controlled by Gandhis, was created to distract attention from a national party, it is just another face of the Congress, and made wrongful gains, the Enforcement Directorate told Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court in connection with a money laundering complaint in the National Herald case.
The ED also said that there cannot be a bigger fraud, adding, the Gandhis took a fraudulent decision which resulted in wrongful loss to major shareholders of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).
The directors at Young Indian were the bosses of the Congress party, the ED told the court, as Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju reiterated Young Indian was nothing more than another face of the Congress party.
As per the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, anyone owning more than 25 per cent shares controls the interest in the firm, the ED said.
In its argument, the probe agency further said that the Gandhi family shunned out major shareholders, and that not only the AJL, but the All India Congress Committee (AICC) was also cheated.
Responding to the court on why the Congress was not a shareholder in the AJL, the ED said the trust belonging to Priyanka Gandhi had certain shares, but not 50 per cent. The probe agency also revealed that the AJL also had other shareholders.
The Enforcement Directorate said that a meeting was held in Lucknow on January 21, 2011, in which it was decided to increase the shareholding of the AJL and to issue Rs 9.02 crore shares to Young Indian, in lieu of the Rs 90.2 crore loan.
However, the majority of AJL shareholders were not present in the meeting, the ED said, adding, it was evident that a crucial decision of vesting 99 per cent shareholding of AJL with Young Indian was made with only the presence of seven members, including two accused in the case.
The probe agency also said that no reasonable efforts were made to call the majority of shareholders for the meeting.
On Wednesday, while hearing the ED's arguments on the case, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court raised certain queries to the ED about the shareholding of the AJL and whether the Congress party was a victim, as it had provided a loan to AJL.
ASG Raju submitted that there was a conspiracy to siphon off the assets of AJL, a company with assets worth Rs 2,000 crore, a fact known to Congress leaders.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne heard the arguments at length for nearly three hours and listed the matter for further hearing on July 3.
The ED filed a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) against seven persons – Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, Young Indian, Dotex, and Sunil Bhandari.
The Congress provided a loan of Rs 90.25 crore to the AJL, which had no means to repay despite holding assets worth Rs 2,000 crores, ASG Raju submitted.
He alleged that the accused aimed to usurp AJL, with its Rs 2,000 crore assets, by creating Young Indian.
The ED argued that Young Indian acquired AJL for just Rs 50 lakh in exchange for the Rs 90 crore loan provided by the Congress.
The ED further stated that the accused firm, Dotex, gave a Rs 1 crore loan to Young Indian, out of which Rs 50 lakh was paid to the AICC. Consequently, Young Indian became the owner of AJL for Rs 50 lakh.