The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that Sonia Gandhi misused her position as the then AICC president for personal gains, benefiting herself and her son Rahul Gandhi, through the Young Indian (YI) company. This accusation is part of the chargesheet filed in the National Herald case, where the ED claims public money was fraudulently converted for self-use.

According to sources quoted by PTI, both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi told the ED during their statements that they were unaware of the activities at YI and the Associated Journals Limited (AJL). They stated that the late Congress leader Motilal Vora handled all administrative and financial matters, as he was empowered to do so.

The chargesheet, filed on April 9, names Sonia Gandhi as accused number one and Rahul Gandhi as accused number two, along with five others, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The National Herald-AJL-YI case involves an alleged conspiracy to illegally obtain the assets of AJL by the beneficial owners and majority shareholders of YI, namely Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

AJL publishes the National Herald news platform. The ED alleges that Sonia Gandhi abused her position as AICC President between 2010 and 2011 for the personal gain of herself and Rahul Gandhi through a fraudulent takeover of AJL by YI. The agency contends that this transaction could not have occurred without her knowledge and active participation, given her role as AICC President.

The ED's chargesheet further alleges that Rahul Gandhi, along with other accused parties, cheated the shareholders of AJL and donors of AICC. He was knowingly involved in activities connected with the proceeds of crime, amounting to Rs 988 crore, including acquisition, possession, and concealment.

The Congress party has refuted these charges, describing the ED's chargesheet as political vendetta aimed at diverting attention from the country's economic challenges. They claim the case is a politically motivated attack disguised as a legal matter.

The ED stated that officials from AICC, AJL, and YI failed to provide documentary evidence regarding AJL's revival and instead attempted to place the responsibility on the deceased Motilal Vora. Rahul Gandhi reportedly told the ED that he was never associated with AJL, neither as a shareholder nor as a director, and that AJL's revival was due to Vora's efforts in fulfilling his duty to revive a nationally important institution.

The chargesheet also alleges that senior Congress leaders, under the patronage of the Gandhis, influenced individuals to donate funds to YI in exchange for promised favors and cash from the AICC office. Some donors' family members and relatives were either promised or given positions in the political hierarchy.

The ED claims that the flow of funds in AJL and YI could not have occurred without the active assistance and instructions from senior Congress leaders and members of the Gandhi family. The assignment of the loan to YI by AICC was allegedly a sham transaction to transfer ownership of AJL's assets, worth hundreds of crores, to YI for a nominal sum of Rs 50 lakh.

The ED's investigation included statements from donors, such as Amit Deshmukh, who stated that his sugar company gave advertisements worth Rs 18 lakh to National Herald on Vora's directions. Additionally, the ED noted that the decision to vest 99% shareholding of AJL with YI was taken by only seven members out of 1,089 shareholders in January 2011, without reasonable efforts to include the majority of AJL shareholders in the decision-making process.