New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar, and several other senior Congress leaders in the National Herald case, saying heavy donations were made to the Young Indian and AJL on these leaders’ directions. According to the chargesheet of the ED, a donation of Rs 80 lakh was made on the instructions of Revanth Reddy.
The Telangana CM also asked to various other individuals to make the donations. It said that Shivakumar donated Rs 25 lakh and Rs 2 crore from his trust and admitted not knowing Young India’s activities.
Shivakumar said he made the donations on the instructions of then AICC treasurer, Pawan Bansal.
According to the chargesheet, the donations were made on the instructions from senior party functionaries as not doing so would have been “damaging” for their political careers and businesses, reported PTI.
The chargesheet was filed on April 9 before a local court, which is yet to take cognisance, the report added.
The probe agency has already named former Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi as accused no. 1 and her son Rahul Gandhi (54) as accused no. 2, apart from five others in the prosecution complaint filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The National Herald-AJL-YI is about an alleged conspiracy planned to illegally obtain assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) by the “beneficial owners” and majority shareholders of Young India (Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi).
On Wednesday, the ED informed a Delhi court that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi allegedly benefited from Rs 142 crore in “proceeds of crime” related to the National Herald money laundering case. The claim was made during a hearing at the Rouse Avenue Court, where Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, stated that the accused enjoyed these proceeds until the agency attached properties worth Rs 751.9 crore linked to the case in November 2023.
The Additional Solicitor General mentioned that “proceeds of crime” include not only properties obtained through the scheduled offence but also any other criminal activity related to those proceeds.
“Proceeds of crime not only include those properties obtained from the scheduled offence, but also any other criminal activity “relatable” to the proceeds of crime,” ASG Raju said.
