National Herald case: Sonia Gandhi seems earlier than ED for third spherical of questioning 

By PTI

NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday appeared earlier than the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the third spherical of questioning within the cash laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.

She reached the federal company’s workplace in central Delhi at 11 am accompanied by her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The 75-year-old Gandhi has been questioned for over eight hours until now the place she has confronted near 65-70 questions. The questioning is predicted to finish Wednesday with the company placing throughout a set of one other 30-40 inquiries to Gandhi.

The questioning pertains to the cost of alleged monetary irregularities within the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.

The periods are going down with Covid-appropriate protocols in place and are being recorded in an audio-video mode, officers stated.

Congress has slammed the company’s motion in opposition to its prime management and termed it as “political vendetta” and “harassment”.

The Delhi Police, just like the final two occasions, deployed an enormous pressure, together with CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricaded your entire over one kilometre stretch between Gandhi’s residence on Janpath-Akbar Road and the ED workplace.

Traffic restrictions have been additionally imposed within the space. Rahul Gandhi has additionally been questioned by the ED on this case final month in periods that clocked over 50 hours over 5 days.

The transfer to query the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late final yr registered a recent case underneath the legal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This was after a trial court docket right here took cognisance of an Income Tax division probe in opposition to Young Indian based mostly on a non-public legal grievance by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the many promoters and majority shareholders in Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding.

Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian paying solely Rs 50 lakh to acquire the appropriate to get well Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

In February final yr, the Delhi High Court issued a discover to the Gandhis in search of their response to Swamy’s plea. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal have been questioned by the ED within the case in April.

Congress has maintained there was no wrongdoing and Young Indian is a “not-for-profit” firm established underneath part 25 of the Companies Act and therefore there could be no query of cash laundering.

It is known that Rahul Gandhi, throughout his deposition earlier than the ED, caught to the place that there was no private acquisition of belongings by himself or his household.

According to the ED, belongings value about Rs 800 crore are “owned” by the AJL and the company needs to know from the Gandhis how a not-for-profit firm like Young Indian was enterprise industrial actions of renting out its land and constructing belongings.

NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday appeared earlier than the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the third spherical of questioning within the cash laundering case linked to the National Herald newspaper.

She reached the federal company’s workplace in central Delhi at 11 am accompanied by her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

The 75-year-old Gandhi has been questioned for over eight hours until now the place she has confronted near 65-70 questions. The questioning is predicted to finish Wednesday with the company placing throughout a set of one other 30-40 inquiries to Gandhi.

The questioning pertains to the cost of alleged monetary irregularities within the Congress-promoted Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.

The periods are going down with Covid-appropriate protocols in place and are being recorded in an audio-video mode, officers stated.

Congress has slammed the company’s motion in opposition to its prime management and termed it as “political vendetta” and “harassment”.

The Delhi Police, just like the final two occasions, deployed an enormous pressure, together with CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricaded your entire over one kilometre stretch between Gandhi’s residence on Janpath-Akbar Road and the ED workplace.

Traffic restrictions have been additionally imposed within the space. Rahul Gandhi has additionally been questioned by the ED on this case final month in periods that clocked over 50 hours over 5 days.

The transfer to query the Gandhis was initiated after the ED late final yr registered a recent case underneath the legal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

This was after a trial court docket right here took cognisance of an Income Tax division probe in opposition to Young Indian based mostly on a non-public legal grievance by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the many promoters and majority shareholders in Young Indian. Like her son, the Congress president too has 38 per cent shareholding.

Swamy had accused the Gandhis and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds, with Young Indian paying solely Rs 50 lakh to acquire the appropriate to get well Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

In February final yr, the Delhi High Court issued a discover to the Gandhis in search of their response to Swamy’s plea. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal have been questioned by the ED within the case in April.

Congress has maintained there was no wrongdoing and Young Indian is a “not-for-profit” firm established underneath part 25 of the Companies Act and therefore there could be no query of cash laundering.

It is known that Rahul Gandhi, throughout his deposition earlier than the ED, caught to the place that there was no private acquisition of belongings by himself or his household.

According to the ED, belongings value about Rs 800 crore are “owned” by the AJL and the company needs to know from the Gandhis how a not-for-profit firm like Young Indian was enterprise industrial actions of renting out its land and constructing belongings.