New Delhi, July 2 2025 — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday told a Delhi court that multiple senior Congress leaders orchestrated “fake transactions” to funnel money into Associated Journals Ltd (AJL), the publisher of the defunct National Herald newspaper.

Appearing before Additional Solicitor General V Raju, the agency alleged that party functionaries issued advance rent receipts and advertising payments that “exist only on paper”, thereby transferring funds to AJL at the behest of the Congress high command. “Any revenue generated through such deceptive means is proceeds of crime (POC),” Raju argued.

Court’s scrutiny on proceeds of crime

Justice Jyoti Singh quizzed the ED on its classification of assets as POC:

Court: “You label ₹142 crore of rent as POC but leave out ₹29 crore. Why the distinction?”
ED: “We are still assessing whether the asset becomes POC at acquisition or later.”

The bench noted that several donors accused of fake contributions are “prominent figures from the same political party.” It asked why they were not added as respondents if their money was illicit.

Share transfers called “paper transactions”

ED cited share movements within AJL and Young Indian Ltd:

• Suman Dubey allegedly transferred shares to Sonia Gandhi.

• Oscar Fernandes transferred shares to Rahul Gandhi and later reclaimed them.

“These swaps are sham transactions meant to keep control within the Gandhi family,” Raju said, asserting that Rahul and Sonia were the only beneficiaries until 2015.

Background of the National Herald case

Founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938, the National Herald became the Congress mouthpiece post‑Independence. AJL shut the paper in 2008 under ₹90 crore debt. In 2012, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy accused Congress figures of using Young Indian Ltd to “maliciously” acquire AJL’s real‑estate‑rich assets, allegedly worth ₹2,000 crore for a mere ₹50 lakh.

The ED’s money‑laundering probe stems from that complaint. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi have denied wrongdoing, calling the case politically motivated.

The agency told the court it will file a supplementary chargesheet detailing additional POC classifications and potential new accused. The hearing continues on Thursday.

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