PROCEEDS OF CRIME IN HERALD CASE ₹988CR: ED DOCUMENTS

TO ED, ACCORDING AJ ACQUIRED MOST OF THE ASSETS AS 'FREEHOLD' OR ON LONG-TERM LEASE' GIVEN BY CENTRAL AND STATE GOVTS

The total "proceeds of crime", or PoC, in the Young Indian-Associated Journals Ltd case, where Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is 1988 crore, according to documents from the federal investigation agency.

This includes real estate and other assets worth 755 crore, shares worth 90 crore, and rent of 142 crore earned since 2010-11, according to the provisional attachment order issued by ED in November, details of which have been accessed by HT. According to the provisional attachment order AJL, the parent company of National Herald, formed in 1937, acquired most of the assets as "freehold" or on "long-term lease" given by central and various state governments for running the newspaper business.

For instance, the Herald House at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in Delhi was given to the company on perpetual lease for ₹4.89 lakh while the Bandra property owned by AJL was acquired for 1.39 crore. In 2010, Young Indian (YI), in which Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi own 38% each, acquired AJL. The 142 crore is the rent earned by "AJL from these properties" after the company was acquired by YI, "since taking control over by AJL by YI in Financial Year 2010-11", ED has stated.