National Herald case: Sonia Gandhi gets fresh summons, asked to appear before ED on June 23

New Delhi, Jun 10: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in connection with the money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. Sonia Gandhi has been asked to appear before the probe agency on June 23.

Gandhi had sought more time to appear before the agency after testing Covid positive on June 3.

The ED wants to record the statement under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which was closed by the investigating agency in 2015.

The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the ED's investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL.

The probe agency had registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognizance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

What is the National Herald case?

The beginning of the case against National Herald case can be traced back to 2012 when Indian politician and economist Subramanian Swamy, in a private criminal complaint, filed a case Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and others for conspiring to cheat and also alleged that there was a misappropriation of funds.

The National Herald case relates to a equity transaction in which Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi are accused of allegedly misappropriating assets of Associated Journals worth over Rs 2,000 crore by paying a paltry sum of just Rs 50 lakh.

The Gandhis, however, have denied any wrongdoing, but courts have found merit in the allegations against them.