ED tells Court: Gandhis acquired AJL assets worth ₹2,000 cr illegally, earned ₹142 cr in 'proceeds of crime'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a Delhi court that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi acquired assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) worth over ₹2,000 crore through Young Indian (YI), a company in which they allegedly hold a 76% stake. The federal agency said the accused earned ₹142.67 crore as rent from AJL’s properties, which it termed direct “proceeds of crime.”

The ED’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju, stated in court that Sonia Gandhi (Accused No. 1) and Rahul Gandhi (Accused No. 2) committed money laundering not only when they obtained the assets but also while continuing to derive benefits from them. He said, “Accused number 1 and 2 acquired around ₹142 crores as direct proceeds of crime... through properties of AJL which were rented out.”

According to ED, the assets were obtained by YI for ₹50 lakh despite the outstanding loan of ₹90.21 crore owed by AJL to the Congress. The agency said that the loan was later converted into equity in favour of YI. ED submitted that after the acquisition, AJL’s properties in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Patna, Indore, and Panchkula continued to generate rental income, which should be treated as proceeds of crime.

The ED valued these properties at ₹755 crore based on assessments by the Income Tax Department. The agency said AJL’s shares worth ₹90.21 crore were also acquired by YI. It added that during 2017–18, YI received ₹18 crore in donations from various entities, which were allegedly not genuine and were used to settle tax liabilities related to the AJL acquisition. The Income Tax Department assessed a tax evasion of ₹414 crore linked to these transactions, the court was informed.

The federal agency has filed a prosecution complaint under sections 3, 4, and 70 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Congress Overseas Chief Sam Pitroda, Suman Dubey, and others. The total value of the alleged proceeds of crime is estimated at ₹988 crore, which includes real estate assets, shares, and rental income.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vishal Gogne has scheduled day-to-day hearings from July 2 to July 8 to consider ED’s submissions. He directed the agency to provide BJP leader Subramanian Swamy — on whose complaint the investigation was initiated — with a copy of the prosecution complaint. Earlier, on May 2, the court had asked the accused to show cause on why cognisance should not be taken based on the ED charge sheet.