What is National Herald case in which ED has summoned Sonia, Rahul Gandhi?

What is the National Herald case in which the Gandhis have been summoned by the ED? Take a look.

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Wednesday said that Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi have been sent notices by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering allegation related to the National Herald case.

According to the Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the ED has summoned Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to appear before it on June 8.

"Sonia Gandhi will go for sure, but Rahul is abroad. If he is back by then, he will appear before the agency on the scheduled date. If not, he will seek some time," Singhvi said.

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In 2012, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and advocate Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint before a trial court alleging that some Congress leaders were involved in cheating and breach of trust in the acquisition of Associated Journals Ltd by Young Indian Ltd (YIL). He alleged that YIL had 'taken over' the assets of the National Herald in a 'malicious' way.The National Herald was a newspaper founded by Jawaharlal Nehru along with other freedom fighters in 1938. It was meant to voice the concerns of the liberal brigade in the Indian National Congress. Published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL), this newspaper became a mouthpiece of the Congress party after Independence. AJL also published two other newspapers, one each in Hindi and Urdu. In 2008, the paper closed down with a debt of over Rs 90 crore.Subramanian Swamy claims that YIL “took over” the assets of the defunct print media outlet in a “malicious” manner to gain profit and assets worth over Rs 2,000 crore.Swamy also alleged that YIL had paid just Rs 50 lakh to obtain the rights to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed the Congress party; AJL was given the amount earlier as a loan to start the newspaper. He also alleged that the loan given to AJL was “illegal”, as it had been taken from party funds.In 2014, the Enforcement Directorate initiated a probe to see if there was any money laundering in the case. On 18 September 2015, it was reported that the Enforcement Directorate had reopened its investigation into the National Herald case.

Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) was a brainchild of Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1937, Nehru started the firm with 5,000 other freedom fighters as its shareholders. The company did not belong to any person in particular. In 2010, the company had 1,057 shareholders. It incurred losses, and its holdings were transferred to Young India in 2011.AJL published the National Herald newspaper in English, Qaumi Awaz in Urdu and Navjeevan in Hindi until 2008. On January 21, 2016, AJL decided to relaunch these three dailies.

Young India Ltd was set up in 2010, with Rahul Gandhi, then a general secretary of the Congress party, as a director. While Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia hold 76 per cent of the company's shares, the remaining 24% are held by Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes. The company is said to have no commercial operations.