The federal investigating agency stated that it affixed these notices at several locations, including the Herald House in Delhi at ITO, a property in Bandra, Mumbai, and the AJL building on Bisheshwar Nath Road in Lucknow on Friday (April 11).
The notices demand the vacation of premises or the transfer of rent (in the case of the asset in Mumbai) to the ED.
This action is being taken under Section (8) and Rule 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which outlines the procedure for taking possession of assets attached by the ED, as confirmed by the adjudicating authority under PMLA.
These immovable assets were attached by the ED in November 2023.
The ED’s money laundering case targets both AJL and Young Indian.
The National Herald is published by AJL and owned by Young Indian Private Limited, with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi holding majority shares at 38% each.
The ED alleged that properties belonging to Young Indian and AJL were utilized to generate illicit proceeds, including bogus donations amounting to ₹18 crore, fake advance rent totaling ₹38 crore, and fraudulent advertisements worth ₹29 crore.
