New Delhi. Congress has suffered a major setback in the National Herald case. The PMLA Adjudicating Authority, after the hearing, has justified the ED’s action in the National Herald case. In the National Herald case, ED had ordered confiscation of assets after investigation against the company running it, Associated Journals Limited i.e. AJL and Young Indian.
The PMLA Adjudicating Authority has upheld the order to confiscate assets worth Rs 752 crore of AJL and Young Indian. Now ED will be able to confiscate all these properties. AJL and Young Indian also have properties like National Herald House in Delhi, Nehru Bhawan in Lucknow and National Herald House in Mumbai, besides properties in many other cities. ED had questioned former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and many others in the National Herald case. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are also on bail in the National Herald case. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi hold 76 percent shares in the Young Indian Company involved in this case.
AJL publishes National Herald. Its ownership is currently with Young Indian Private Limited. The PMLA Adjudicating Authority has said in its decision that the assets and equity that the ED has decided to seize are the proceeds of crime. The court has also considered these properties to be linked to money laundering. In November 2023, the ED had issued an order to seize properties as part of its money laundering investigation against AJL and Young Indian. Now the latest decision of PMLA Tribunal may increase problems for Congress and Gandhi family.