Sonia, Rahul Gandhi To Be Questioned By Enforcement Directorate: 10 Facts

Rahul Gandhi has asked to appear after June 5 as he is not in the country.

"It's a political, social, economic, and legal battle," the Congress said, asserting that the Gandhis had nothing to hide.

Congress MP and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi at a press conference said there is no evidence of money laundering or of any money exchange. The party has accused the Centre of political vendetta and misusing central probe agencies to target the opposition with an eye on assembly elections.

"This is a strange case of money laundering where no money is involved. The case is more hollow than a pack of cards. We will face it. We are not intimidated. This reeks of vendetta, pettiness, fear and cheap politics," Mr Singhvi told reporters.

The case only involved the conversion of debt into equity to pay off dues like salaries, the Congress said, accusing the government of trying to deflect attention from "real issues" like inflation. Mr Singhvi said the case was closed in 2015 by the Enforcement Directorate but the government removed the officials concerned, brought in new officials, and reopened the case.

The agency, officials said, wants to record their statements under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

The National Herald is published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and owned by Young Indian Pvt Limited. The case is regarding allegations of cheating, conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust in the acquisition of the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which ran the National Herald newspaper, by Young Indian Pvt Ltd.

The central probe agency recently questioned senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation. The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials said.

The agency had registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013 accusing Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.

There is no FIR in this yet and the matter is still pending in the Delhi court. Both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi have secured bail in the case. Mr Singhvi in his press conference said that ED has initiated a PMLA probe into this matter, calling it "illegal".