Congress President Sonia Gandhi is likely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate.
New Delhi:
Congress President Sonia Gandhi is expected to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday for the second round of questioning in the money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper.
He is expected to appear before the federal probe agency around noon on July 26 for recording his statement by the ED’s investigating officer, officials said.
Initially, the agency had summoned him on Monday but it was postponed by a day.
Sonia Gandhi, 75, was questioned for more than two hours during the first day of questioning in the case on July 21, where she answered 28 questions put up by the agency, which probed alleged financial irregularities in the Congress-promoted Congress. Investigating. Young Indian Private Limited, which owns the National Herald newspaper.
Officials said that like the first day of his appearance, all COVID-appropriate protocols would be implemented on Tuesday such as deploying doctors and an ambulance, ‘Covid negative’ certificates of investigators and proper physical distancing between Gandhi and Gandhi. team of investigators.
Sonia Gandhi’s children Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi are expected to accompany her to the ED office, as they did last week.
If necessary, Priyanka Vadra can stop again to provide any medicines and other medical care. Congress criticized the agency’s action against its top leadership and termed it “political vendetta”.
The Delhi Police is also expected to deploy a huge force, including CRPF and RAF personnel, and barricades have been put up for an entire distance of one kilometer between his residence and the ED office.
The move to question the Gandhi family was taken after the ED registered a fresh case under criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act late last year.
In 2013, a trial court here took cognizance of the Income Tax Department’s investigation against Young Indian based on a private criminal complaint by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and majority shareholders of Young Indian. Like his son, the Congress president also holds 38 per cent stake.
Mr Swamy had accused the Gandhi family and others of conspiracy to commit fraud and misappropriation of funds, in which Young Indian paid only Rs 50 lakh to the Congress to get the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore.
In February last year, the Delhi High Court had issued a notice to the Gandhi family seeking their response on Swamy’s plea. In April, the ED had questioned Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal in this case.
The Congress has maintained that no wrong has been committed and the Young Indian is a “non-profit” company established under Section 25 of the Companies Act and hence there can be no question of money laundering.
During his statement before the ED, Rahul Gandhi is understood to have maintained that there was no personal acquisition of the property by himself or his family.
According to the ED, assets worth around Rs 800 crore are with AJL and the agency wants to know from the Gandhi family how a non-profit company like Young Indian was carrying out its business activities of letting out its land and building assets. ,