New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) A "criminal conspiracy" was carried out by Congress leaders to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of its public company AJL by transferring 99 per cent shares for just Rs 50 lakh to their private company Young Indian, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are the majority shareholders, the ED is learnt to have said in its chargesheet in the National Herald case.

Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was named accused no 1, and her son and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused no 2 by the federal probe agency in the prosecution complaint filed under various sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before the court of special judge Vishal Gogne.

The other accused named in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) chargesheet filed on April 9 are Congress party associates Suman Dubey and Sam Pitroda, two companies Young Indian and Dotex Merchandise Private Limited, and Sunil Bhandari (of Dotex Merchandise).

The ED has filed the chargesheet under sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA for "commission of the offence of money laundering" as defined under Section 3 of the Act along with Section 70 (offences by companies) seeking to establish "vicarious liability" of the office bearers and executives of the firm.

It has sought punishment for the accused under Section 4 of the PMLA where jail term can extend up to seven years.

The court has posted the matter for hearing on April 25.

This is possibly the first case where the ED's money-laundering case stems from a trial court taking cognisance of a private complaint and subsequent issuance of summons to the accused for initiating a trial.

Usually, under the PMLA, the agency takes cognisance of a predicate offence listed under schedules A and B of the Act.

The special court is expected to weigh these points related to the "predicate offence" while taking cognisance of the ED chargesheet against the Gandhis.

Sources told PTI that the ED identified the "proceeds of crime" in this case at Rs 988 crore and the current market value of the linked assets at Rs 5,000 crore.

On Saturday, the ED said it served notices to take possession of immovable assets worth Rs 661 crore that it had attached as part of this probe.

Associated Journals Limited (AJL) is the publisher of the National Herald news platform (newspaper and web portal) and is owned by Young Indian Private Limited.

The agency has said in the chargesheet that the proceedings against late Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes stood "abated' and it might file a supplementary chargesheet, too, in the coming days.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed the ED action, saying "filing of chargesheets against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but politics of vendetta and intimidation by the prime minister and the home minister gone completely berserk." The ED, according to the sources, found merit in a December 2017 Income Tax department assessment order to state in the chargesheet that the "principal officers" of AJL, Young Indian and "key" office-bearers of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) orchestrated a "criminal conspiracy" to "usurp" properties worth Rs 2,000 crore of AJL, an unlisted public company, by transferring 99 per cent shares in favour of Young Indian, a private company, for a "paltry" Rs 50 lakh.

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi hold 38 per cent shares each of Young Indian, making them the majority shareholders of the company.

The balance 24 per cent was jointly held by Vora and Fernandes who, according to the ED, were "close associates" of the Gandhis.

The accused "entered into a criminal conspiracy and converted the outstanding loan of Rs 90.21 crore given by AICC to AJL into Rs 9.02 crore equity shares and transferred all these shares in favour of Young Indian for only Rs 50 lakh," the ED is understood to have found in its probe during which it questioned both the Gandhis.

By this transfer, the sources claimed, the accused effectively transferred the "beneficial" ownership of all properties of AJL worth thousands of crores to Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

Though Young Indian was incorporated as a 'not for profit' or charitable company under Section 25 of the Companies Act, a defence taken by the Congress in this case repeatedly to underline that there was no wrongdoing, the ED claimed its probe found that there was "no such charitable activity in the company".

The agency, the sources claimed, found that there were no expenses towards its (Young Indian) declared charitable activities during the many years of its existence.

The agency has used the Income Tax department assessment order of 2017 to say in the chargesheet that there was tax evasion of more than Rs 414 crore "in the hands of" Young Indian as it "illegally acquired" the properties of AJL.

The ED investigation in the case began in 2021 after the metropolitan magistrate at Patiala House Courts in Delhi, on June 26, 2014, took cognisance of a private complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

This order was challenged by the accused before Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court. Both the courts refused to interfere with the trial process, the sources said. PTI NES SZM SZM

Money laundering allegation: transfer of public company control to a private vehicle alleged to mask beneficial ownership and assets. The Enforcement Directorate charged that principal officers and majority shareholders effected a criminal conspiracy to convert a loan into equity and transfer controlling shares of a public company to a private not for profit vehicle for nominal consideration, constituting money laundering and beneficial ownership diversion. The agency seeks to establish vicarious liability of corporate office bearers and executives under company offence provisions, relies on a prior tax assessment to allege asset acquisition and related tax evasion, and has attached immovable assets while pursuing restraint and recovery measures.