The Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing has registered a fresh FIR against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with six others, over the alleged irregular takeover of Associated Journals Ltd (AJL). The complaint accuses them of working together to gain unlawful control of the company, which previously had ties to the Congress and owned properties valued at around Rs 2,000 crore.
According to the FIR dated 3 October, the takeover was allegedly executed through Young Indian, a firm in which Sonia and Rahul Gandhi jointly held a 76% stake. The action follows a complaint from the Enforcement Directorate’s Headquarters Investigative Unit, which submitted its findings from a long-running probe into the National Herald money laundering case covering 2008–2024.
Under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED can share information with another agency and request registration of a scheduled offence. Once such an offence is recorded, it serves as the predicate offence enabling the ED to pursue its ongoing money laundering investigation.
