Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia accused in India money laundering case

NEW DELHI: Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia, the most senior members of India’s Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, have been accused in a money laundering case by the country’s financial crimes agency, news agency ANI reported on Tuesday.

The financial crimes agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), presented the findings of its investigation in the case, known as a charge sheet, to a New Delhi court.

The ED accused the Gandhis, who have previously denied any wrongdoing in the case, of forming a shell company to illegally take control of property worth $300 million that belonged to a firm that published the National Herald newspaper.

The charge sheet also names other members of the main opposition Congress party, ANI said.

The ED did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.

“Filing chargesheets against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and some others is nothing but the politics of vendetta and intimidation by the PM,” Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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The Congress party and its leadership will not be silenced, Ramesh added.

Modi’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rahul Gandhi and Sonia were questioned by the ED in 2022 as part of a probe into the case. In November 2023, the agency said it had seized assets worth 7.52 billion rupees ($87.72 million) linked to the case, including properties in New Delhi and Mumbai and equity investments.

The National Herald newspaper was founded in 1937 by Jawaharlal Nehru, who went on to become India’s first prime minister. Congress has been led for decades by his descendants: Rahul Gandhi is Nehru’s great-grandson.

On Tuesday, the ED also questioned Robert Vadra, Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law, in an unrelated case involving alleged irregularities in land deals dating back to 2008 when a Congress-led coalition governed India, local media reported.

“There is nothing in the case,” Vadra told reporters before visiting the ED office. “Whenever I speak for minorities or think about joining politics, they misuse the authorities.”