Tue Apr 15 13:38:58 UTC 2025: ## Congress Leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi Charged in National Herald Money Laundering Case

**NEW DELHI** – The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a chargesheet on Tuesday against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Sam Pitroda, the party’s overseas unit chief, in the National Herald money laundering case. A special court set April 25 as the hearing date. This marks the first time a chargesheet has been filed against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

The chargesheet follows an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving the Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the National Herald newspaper. The ED had previously attached assets worth ₹661 crore linked to AJL, including the iconic National Herald House in Delhi. Notices were served to vacate these properties.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury denounced the charges as a “conspiracy” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to destroy the Congress party, rejecting the ED’s actions. The investigation was launched in 2021 based on a 2014 private complaint alleging a criminal conspiracy to launder money through the acquisition of AJL properties. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are major shareholders in Young Indian Pvt Ltd, which owns the National Herald.

The chargesheet comes hours after Robert Vadra, husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and brother-in-law of Rahul Gandhi, was questioned by the ED regarding money laundering allegations related to a Haryana land deal. Vadra dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

The ED’s investigation into Vadra involves the purchase and subsequent sale of land by his company, Skylight Hospitality. The Congress party denies any wrongdoing in relation to both cases. The opposition continues to allege that the government uses investigative agencies to target political rivals.

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