April 16, 2025
NEW DELHI – In a fresh trouble for the Nehru-Gandhi family, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Tuesday, filed a chargesheet against Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and their close confidant Sam Pitroda in the Associated Journals Limited (National Herald) case and questioned businessman Robert Vadra in a Haryana land deal linked money-laundering case.
The Special Court has fixed April 25 for hearing arguments on taking cognizance of the prosecution complaint.
The prosecution complaint has been filed under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, for the offence of money laundering, as defined under Section 3, read with Section 70, and punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, 2002.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne stated that as per the submission of the counsel representing the ED, the predicate offence – recorded under complaint case No. 18/2019 – includes charges under Sections 403, 406, and 420, read with Section 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and is currently under trial at the Rouse Avenue Courts in New Delhi.
The court observed that under Section 44(1)(c) of the PMLA, the predicate offence must be tried in the same court that has taken cognizance of the money laundering offence under Section 3 of the PMLA. The court further noted that both offences — the predicate offence and the PMLA offence — must be adjudicated in the same jurisdiction.
The complaint in the National Herald case was filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, their associated companies, and other individuals.
The move came days after the probe agency had begun to take possession of the tainted properties of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in compliance with Section 8, 2002 and Rule 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Taking Possession of Attached or Frozen Properties Confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2013.
Moreover, the ED questioned Robert Vadra, husband of Congress Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a money-laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryana’s Shikohpur.
The probe is about a land deal of February 2008 where a company linked to Vadra – Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd – purchased a piece of 3.5 acre land in Shikohpur in Gurugram from a firm named Onkareshwar Properties at a price of Rs 7.5 crore.
It is alleged that the mutation of this land was done within hours. The Haryana Police had filed a case in this deal in 2018.