NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, has informed the
Enforcement Directorate that former Congress treasurer Motilal Vora was in
charge of all transactions relating to the Young Indian's purchase of
Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) assets worth hundreds of crores from Congress.
The Congress MP, who was questioned for the third day in a row about Young
Indian (YI), a firm managed by the Gandhi family that bought AJL's assets,
denied personal knowledge of transactions being examined for possible money
laundering in light of an IRS investigation.
"He has denied any knowledge of the loans or the accommodation entrance
accepted by the Young Indian, putting it all on Vora, who is no longer alive,"
ED sources added. When asked for a response, Congress remained silent.
"Proceedings of the ED are of a judicial character, and disclosing them is a
criminal violation," ED secretary Pranav Jha told TOI. As a result, we won't
say anything about it."
Rahul's interrogation would resume on Friday, despite his request for an
exemption on Thursday. Rahul and his mother, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, own
76 percent of Young Indian, with Vora and Oscar Fernandes owning the remaining
24 percent (12 percent each). Vora died in December 2020 and Fernandes died in
September 2021, respectively. According to ED sources, it was not by design
that Rahul was not allowed to depart until 11 p.m. "He departs late because
the Congress leader takes a 3-4 hour break after every three hours of
questioning to'review' his replies... We've been receiving results in a big
way.
It took just around six hours to interview him, according to the source.
While Rahul's examination will continue on Friday, Sonia has been called for
questioning in the matter on June 23 after requesting a delay due to a Covid
contract. After hearing testimony from Congress functionary Mallikarjun Kharge
and the party's current treasurer Pawan Bansal in April, the ED issued
summonses to both. Kharge and Bansal are both YI and AJL office bearers.
Meanwhile, mayhem reigned in central Delhi, with Congress workers setting fire
to cars and staging violent demonstrations, smashing police barricades as they
attempted to march to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road. On
Wednesday, Rahul arrived to the agency around 11 a.m., taking an hour for
lunch before returning.
Rahul Gandhi is believed to have informed the ED that he managed the YI-AJL
transaction. With IIM Calcutta's Public Policy Programme, you may take the
next step in your leadership development. Fear haunts Saharanpur: Houses will
be demolished by bulldozers. For the first time in 109 days, daily Covid
instances are expected to surpass 10,000. All YI-AJL dealings are due to the
late Motilal Vora, according to Rahul. sources from the ED DELHI, NEW DELHI:
Former Congress treasurer Motilal Vora was in charge of all transactions
relating to the Young Indian's purchase of Associated Journals Ltd's (AJL)
assets worth hundreds of crores from Congress, according to Congress leader
Rahul Gandhi.
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The Congress MP, who was questioned for the third day in a row about Young
Indian (YI), a firm managed by the Gandhi family that bought AJL's assets,
denied personal knowledge of transactions being examined for possible money
laundering in light of an IRS investigation. "He has denied any knowledge of
the loans or the accommodation entrance accepted by the Young Indian, putting
it all on Vora, who is no longer alive," ED sources added. "Proceedings of the
ED are of judicial character, and disclosing them is a criminal violation,"
Congress secretary Pranav Jha said TOI when asked for a reaction. As a result,
we won't say anything about it."
Fullscreen: 1.33 percent PlayUnmute Loaded: 1.33 percent Rahul's ED
questioning in the National Herald case continues, with Congress vowing to
ramp up demonstrations. Even as the Congress party prepares to increase its
rallies throughout the nation, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) quizzed Rahul
Gandhi for the third day in a row in connection with the money laundering case
pertaining to the National Herald newspaper.
Rahul Gandhi has spent more than 30 years in politics. Rahul's interrogation
would resume on Friday, despite his request for an exemption on Thursday.
Rahul and his mother, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, own 76 percent of Young
Indian, with Vora and Oscar Fernandes owning the remaining 24 percent (12
percent each). Vora died in December 2020 and Fernandes died in September
2021, respectively. ALSO READ Case of the National Herald: Rahul Gandhi was
interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate for 11 hours and was summoned
again today. The Congress politician was questioned regarding transactions
relating to Young Indian's purchase of Associated Journals Ltd, publisher of
the National Herald and other Congress periodicals, for Rs 50 lakh, at 11 a.m.
on Monday. The latter is a for-profit corporation run by Congress's president.
Sources from the ED
"He arrives late because the Congress leader takes a three- to four-hour
break after every three hours of questioning to'review' his answers... "We've
just had around six hours to interview him," stated the insider. While Rahul's
examination will continue on Friday, Sonia has been called for questioning in
the matter on June 23 after requesting a delay due to a Covid contract.
After hearing testimony from Congress functionary Mallikarjun Kharge and the
party's current treasurer Pawan Bansal in April, the ED issued summonses to
both. Kharge and Bansal are both YI and AJL office bearers. Meanwhile, mayhem
reigned in central Delhi, with Congress workers setting fire to cars and
staging violent demonstrations, smashing police barricades as they attempted
to march to the ED headquarters on APJ Abdul Kalam Road. Rahul arrived to the
agency at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, took an hour for lunch, and then returned to
the investigation at 4 p.m.
According to sources, once YI acquired AJL, two of the company's founders,
Suman Dube and Sam Pitroda, departed as shareholders and transferred their
interests to Sonia and Fernandes. "As a consequence, the YI was transferred
and control was transferred to Sonia and Rahul, both main owners with a
shareholding of 38 percent each, and their close allies Motilal Vora and
Fernandes, each with a stake of 12 percent," according to the investigative
report.
Both AJL and YI shared a board of directors who were also members of Congress,
which "aided these companies in carrying out transactions among them with
remarkable speed, even without following a logical sequence of transactions
like a sensible businessman, prima facie leading to the unavoidable conclusion
that these transactions were illegal."
According to the ED dossier, "because the YI did not have any cash at the time
of alleged acquisition of a loan of Rs 90.21 crore, it claimed getting a loan
of Rs 1 crore from Dotex Merchandise Pvt Ltd, a Kolkata based shell firm."