Sonia, Rahul Gandhi denied knowing about AJL-YI transactions: ED

NEW DELHI: During her questioning over three days in July 2022 in the National Herald money laundering case, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi had told Enforcement Directorate (ED) that she was not aware of who took the decision in Congress to assign the Rs 90 crore loan of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) to Young Indian, a not-for profit company in which she and her son Rahul Gandhi held 76% stake.

"Motilal Vora, the then treasurer of Congress, would have been aware of this as he was empowered to deal with administrative and financial matters," Sonia had told the investigators, the ED said in its chargesheet filed against her on April 9. Rahul took an identical stand, refusing to acknowledge the controversial transactions that have become the prime money laundering charges slapped by the agency against the two.

Young Indian took over AJL's loan liability towards Congress for a mere Rs 50 lakh, and in the process took over the company that owned assets across India estimated at over Rs 2,000 crore, according to ED.

Both Sonia and Rahul were directors in Young Indian when these transactions happened, the agency said while accusing them of being involved in the conspiracy to siphon off assets of AJL that actually belonged to the Congress party.

Based on details of Rahul's interrogation by ED investigators, TOI had in June 16, 2022 exclusively reported that the Congress functionary had blamed the AJL-YI transactions to the late Motilal Vora. The agency was sceptical of the identical statements of mother and son as Sonia was then Congress president and Rahul was a general secretary in the party, besides being the majority shareholders in Young Indian and directors of the company. Vora was the party's treasurer for decades.

Significantly, ED noted in its chargesheet that at the time it was transferred to Young Indian for Rs 50 lakh, AJL had an annual rental income of Rs 75 lakh. AJL's annual income shot up significantly after it was owned by the Gandhi family: from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 15 crore per annum by 2021-22.

AJL, publisher of Congress mouthpiece National Herald and Quami Awaz, folded operations in 2008 after providing VRS to its remaining staff. However, it continued to make revenue by renting out its premises in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and other cities. Later, after taking over the company, the promoters/directors of Young Indian further developed these properties and raised the annual rental income to Rs 15 crore.

While Sonia told ED that "she was not aware why a new entity Young Indian was incorporated for assignment of the alleged loan of Rs 90 crore so as to do away with the non-recoverable loan of AJL when the same could have been achieved simply by writing off the loan", Rahul had said he was not aware where the Rs 50 lakh came from in Young Indian to settle the AJL loan (with Congress).

Both Sonia and Rahul refused to produce documentary evidence to support their claim that late Vora was authorised to take the decision of assigning AJL's loan to YI and in return, transferring the entire company and its properties to the new entity privately owned by them.

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