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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
'Truly a strange case': Abhishek Manu Singhvi rebuts ED's money laundering charge against Rahul, Sonia in court
Representing Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi , senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Friday contended that the case made out by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Congress-linked National Herald newspaper case is "truly a strange one". He said, "More than strange. Unprecedented," adding that it is an alleged case of money laundering "without any property, without use or projection of property". Amongst several allegations, ED has alleged that the Gandhis held the majority 76% shares in Young Indian (YI), which allegedly usurped assets of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in exchange for a ₹90 crore loan. Responding to this charge, Singhvi argued that the exercise was undertaken to make AJL debt-free. The lawyer added that "every company is entitled under law and does, every day, make their companies get free by a variety of instruments. So you take away the debt and assign it to another entity. So this company becomes debt-free". by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Join new Free to Play WWII MMO War Thunder War Thunder Play Now Undo He also argued that YI was a not-for-profit company. "This means it cannot give dividends, perks, salaries, or bonuses. It can give (away) nothing," Singhvi added. He also contended that the present court did not have jurisdiction to try the case. ED had on Thursday concluded its arguments in the alleged money laundering case in which Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and other co-accused stand chargesheeted by the agency for their alleged involvement in the Herald newspaper case. The counsel for the agency told a special court on Thursday here that it is a "classic" case of money laundering. The agency further argued that YI was used as a "vehicle" with the intention to allegedly usurp assets worth ₹2,000 crores of AJL, which published the National Herald newspaper. The federal agency filed a prosecution complaint (equivalent of a chargesheet) against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi, Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, M/s Young India, M/s Dotex Merchandise and Sunil Bhandari in a local court on April 9. The court will decide on taking the cognisance of the chargesheet only after hearing the contentions of the agency and accused. Live Events
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
National Herald case: Documented evidence exhibiting money laundering, says ED to Court
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday concluded its arguments in an alleged money laundering case in which senior Congress leaders Sonia, Rahul Gandhi and other co-accused stand chargesheeted by the agency for their alleged involvement in Congress-linked National Herald newspaper case. The counsel for the agency told a special court here that it is a "classic" case of money laundering. He added that it is an open and shut case with documented evidence exhibiting money laundering. The agency further argued that Young Indian (YI) was used as a "vehicle" with the intention to allegedly usurp assets worth ₹2,000 crore of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the National Herald newspaper. The counsel further contended that after taking over the ownership of AJL, the YI that was controlled by the Gandhi family had announced that it would not publish the newspaper. The agency also alleged that apart from Delhi, the AJL had properties in Lucknow, Bhopal, and Indore, Panchkula, Patna and other parts of the country that had been given by various central and state governments after 1947. ED said that these properties were transferred to YI for making illegal money. The defence will commence its counter arguments on Friday. At the last hearing on Wednesday, the counsel for ED told the court that the agency could make the Congress party an accused in the case if it found evidence of its involvement. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Chi phí cấy ghép răng là bao nhiêu vào năm 2025 (kiểm tra giá) Cấy ghép răng | Quảng cáo tìm kiếm Tìm hiểu thêm Undo "The ED can make AICC an accused in the future if it finds evidence. Just because the ED has not made AICC an accused, does not mean it is deprived of its right to do it," the agency's counsel had contended on Wednesday.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Congress-linked National Herald newspaper case: Day-to-day hearing from July 2 to 8
New Delhi: A local court on Tuesday said it will hold a day-to-day hearing in a money laundering case filed by ED against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi , Rahul Gandhi and others for their alleged involvement in Congress-linked National Herald newspaper case. The court said that the day-to-day hearing will take place from July 2 to 8. Counsel representing the Gandhis on Tuesday sought more time to peruse the voluminous case records. The ED counsel argued in support of its prosecution complaint (equivalent to charge sheet) against the Gandhis and others last month. The court also posed pointed queries to the agency. Special judge Vishal Gogne sought clarity on the ownership of AJL's assets, specifically whether the company's shareholders could be considered its owners. The court asked ED's counsel: "Are assets owned by the company or shareholders? Who owns the property as of today?" by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo The court remarked: "In simple words, if the property of A is usurped by B, does it become proceeds of crime when it was clean in the hands of A." It asked: "Are wrongful acts ascribed to individuals but not parties (Congress)? Or is the party a victim?" In response, the ED counsel said "the donors of the party are victims". The counsel argued that donations and membership fees were collected from the public for party purposes, but were instead diverted as a loan to a company engaged in commercial activities. The ED counsel further argued that Young Indian was formed as a sham entity, "a cloak to convert public money to personal use" and used as a special purpose vehicle to gain control over assets of AJL worth ₹2,000 crore. The agency further alleged that the accused acted in "consortium with each other to achieve the said nefarious purpose". The agency claimed the alleged proceeds of crime included rental income worth ₹142 crore received by the accused. Live Events
