National Herald case: ED names Congress leaders for giving funds to Rahul, Sonia Gandhi-led Young Indian company on request

In the National Herald case, Congress leaders who donated to Young Indian named

The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) chargesheet names several Congress leaders for giving huge funds to Young Indian Limited, a company controlled by Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and linked to the National Herald case. The agency claimed that several senior leaders across several states contributed lakhs of rupees to the company, which is now under investigation for what it described as a well-orchestrated financial cover-up. In its chargesheet, the agency further claimed that Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were beneficiaries of the funds transferred to Young Indian under the guise of donations.

Major donations came from Congress-ruled states like Telangana, Karnataka, and Punjab. ED’s chargesheet names Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivkumar, Former Treasurers Ahmed Patel and Pawan Kumar Bansal as major fundraisers for Associated Journal Limited (AJL)and Young Indian, controlled by Sonia and Rahul.

Crores received by AJL in the name of advertisements. The ED also found that similar payments were made to AJL on the instructions of Congress leaders. More than 12 entities gave 6.8 crore rupees to AJL in the name of advertisements. In the chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named several individuals who contacted people to raise money for advertisements in the National Herald through Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

The ED’s investigation also points to similar donation patterns in Karnataka and Punjab. According to sources, veteran Congress leader Pawan Bansal allegedly instructed Karnataka Congress President D K Shivakumar and his brother, MP D K Suresh, to contribute Rs.25 lakh each in April 2022. In the same month, a trust linked to Shivakumar, the National Education Trust, donated a staggering Rs.2 crore to Young Indian.

In Punjab, Amit Vij, who contested the Assembly elections, donated Rs.3.30 crore in three separate tranches in 2015. The ED suspects these donations were not voluntary contributions but were instead routed as part of a deliberate scheme to funnel money into Young Indian. Sources indicate that the agency is now looking into whether these transactions violated provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“The pattern, timing, and coordination of these donations suggest a systematic effort to inject funds into Young Indian using party loyalists and state-level leaders,” said ED officials. According to the ED, among those who solicited funds were the current Telangana Chief Minister and former state Congress president Revanth Reddy, the late Ahmed Patel, and former Union Minister Pawan Bansal. None of them, however, have been named as accused in the chargesheet.

The ED claims that donations made between 2019 and 2022 were influenced by directions from Reddy, Patel, and Bansal. Some donors, ED said, were affiliated with the Congress party, and it was suggested that not donating could negatively impact their political careers or business interests.

Another individual named in the chargesheet is Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, a close associate of former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Chahal, who has since joined the BJP, was involved in soliciting funds for advertisements in the National Herald through AJL. Another Congress leader admitted to donating Rs.50 lakh. ED has recorded the statement of Congress leader Arvind Vishwanath Singh Chauhan, who stated that he gave Rs.30 lakh from his bank account and Rs.20 lakh in cash to Young Indian on the instructions of Ahmed Patel. He said he could not refuse because he had contested the election as an MLA on the party’s ticket.

Another person, Rajeev Gambhir, told the ED that he donated to Young Indian on the instructions of Ahmed Patel. According to the agency, Young Indian received donations of 6.90 crore in the financial year 2018-19 and Rs.5.05 crore in 2019-20. Among them is former Congress MP from Punjab, Ravneet Bittu, who has since joined the BJP and is currently a Union Minister. The list also includes the name of Bharat Bhushan Ashu, a former MLA who was arrested by the ED a few years ago.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing ED, stated that the accused were enjoying the proceeds of crime until the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized property worth 751.9 crore rupees related to the National Herald in November 2023. On April 12, 2025, during the investigation, the action was taken to seize the attached properties. ED had pasted possession notices on AJL’s buildings located at Herald House in Delhi, Bandra (East) in Mumbai, and Visheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow. Apart from these immovable properties worth 661 crores, ED had attached AJL’s shares worth 90.2 crores in November 2023 to secure the proceeds of crime and prevent the accused from destroying them.

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