In a major development, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi have been named in a fresh case linked to the National Herald money laundering investigation. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has filed a new FIR accusing them of criminal conspiracy.
The FIR includes six people and three companies —
- Associated Journals Limited (AJL)
- Young Indian
- Dotex Merchandise Pvt. Ltd.
What the FIR Claims of Rahul Gandhi
According to the complaint, a Kolkata-based shell company, Dotex Merchandise, gave ₹1 crore to Young Indian, a not-for-profit company where Rahul and Sonia Gandhi hold 76% shares.
Young Indian then reportedly paid ₹50 lakh to the Congress party and, through this process, gained control of AJL, which owns assets worth nearly ₹2,000 crore.
The fresh FIR, dated 3 October 2025, is based on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) report. Under the PMLA law, the ED can ask any agency to register a case if it finds evidence of a scheduled offence.
This comes just a day after a Delhi court postponed its verdict in the National Herald case to 16 December 2025.
Background Explained Simply
The National Herald case began in 2012, when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy claimed that Congress leaders cheated and misused their power to take over AJL — the publisher of the historic National Herald newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938.
The newspaper shut down in 2008, leaving AJL with a ₹90 crore debt, which the Congress party had given as a loan over 10 years. When AJL couldn’t repay it, the loan was turned into equity shares and handed over to Young Indian, formed in 2010.
Rahul and Sonia Gandhi each own 38% of Young Indian, while the rest of the shares belong to Motilal Vora, Oscar Fernandes, Sam Pitroda, and Suman Dubey. This made Young Indian the main owner of AJL.
The case continues to attract nationwide attention as investigators dig deeper into the financial transactions and ownership patterns.
