The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday summoned Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi over the National Herald case.
Rahul Gandhi has been summoned on June 2 and Sonia Gandhi on June 8, ED sources said. However, Rahul Gandhi has asked for time to appear after June 5 as he is not in the country.
"This is a strange case of money laundering where no money is involved. The case is more hollow than a pack of cards. We will face it. We are not intimidated. This reeks of vendetta, pettiness, fear, and cheap politics," Congress MP and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi at a press conference.
The party further claimed that the case was just a diversion from "real issues" the country is facing like inflation and other problems. The case was already closed in 2015 by the ED itself but the government did not like it and it removed the ED officials concerned, brought in new officials, and reopened the case, Mr. Singhvi said.
The agency, officials said, wants to record their statements under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The party has pointed out that there was no money exchange, and only conversion of debt into equity to pay off dues like salaries, etc.
The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited. The case is regarding allegations of cheating, conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust in the acquisition of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which ran the National Herald newspaper, by Young Indian Pvt Ltd.
The central probe agency recently questioned senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation. The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of ED's investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions, and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said.
The agency registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court took cognizance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.
BJP MP Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only ₹ 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover ₹ 90.25 crores that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.