Gandhi Family Faces Money Laundering Accusations, Protests Planned

The Enforcement Directorate has charged the Gandhi family with forming a shell company for acquiring assets linked to the National Herald newspaper, sparking a political storm.

 

India's Congress party is poised for nationwide protests on Wednesday in response to the financial crimes agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), filing charges against key leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for alleged money laundering activities. The ED’s findings, presented in a Delhi court on Tuesday, claim that the Gandhis formed a shell company to illegitimately acquire assets of the National Herald newspaper, valued at over 20 billion rupees (approximately $233 million).

Jairam Ramesh, a spokesperson for Congress, has condemned the accusations, asserting that they are part of a broader “politics of vendetta and intimidation” orchestrated by the current government. The Gandhis, who have consistently denied any involvement in wrongdoing, have not yet publicly addressed these latest allegations.

Additionally, the investigation includes other Congress party affiliates, like its overseas head Sam Pitroda, as reported by news agency ANI. The ED's probe began in 2021 following a complaint from Subramanian Swamy, a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Swamy has proposed that the Gandhis misappropriated party funds in a takeover of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper, leading to the illicit acquisition of valuable properties.

The Congress party argues that it took over AJL in 2010 to preserve a historical legacy and has lent it over 900 million rupees throughout the years. AJL became debt-free by converting its debt into equity, allocating shares to a newly formed entity known as Young Indian, which the party insists is a non-profit organization with no shareholder dividends.

Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are both directors of Young Indian, each possessing a 38% stake in the company; the remainder is held by other Congress leaders including Motilal Vora and Sam Pitroda. The ED's recent statements allege that Young Indian secured AJL properties worth 20 billion rupees for merely 5 million rupees, casting doubt on the deals' valuation.

Moreover, the agency has issued notices for property seizures amounting to 6.6 billion rupees across major Indian cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, all linked to Young Indian. With a court hearing scheduled for April 25, the case has raised questions about the government’s approach to opposition leaders, as many have criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration for utilizing the ED as a political tool against rivals.

Recent figures compiled by Reuters indicate that since Modi took office in 2014, approximately 150 opposition politicians have faced ED inquiries, including last year's high-profile arrest of former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ahead of critical elections, a move that kept him in jail for five months before his release on bail.

The National Herald, originally established by Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister and Rahul Gandhi's great-grandfather, has a storied history tied to India’s independence movement. Once a prominent English daily, it ceased publication in 2008 due to financial challenges, before the Congress party revived it as a digital platform in 2017. Historically, the paper was influential in shaping the Congress party's narrative, a legacy that continues to resonate in contemporary politics.