$300m laundering allegation puts Gandhi family under legal, political pressure

(Reuters): Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi have been accused of money laundering in India.

According to a report by international news agency Reuters, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crime agency, has filed a charge sheet in a New Delhi court.

The ED has alleged that the Gandhi family illegally took control of assets worth $300 million belonging to the company that publishes the National Herald newspaper by creating a shell company.

The charge sheet also includes the names of other members of the Congress Party. The ED did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that filing a charge sheet against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and a few others is nothing but an act of political vendetta and intimidation by the Prime Minister.

Ramesh added that the Congress Party and its leadership cannot be silenced.

Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were questioned by the ED in 2022 as part of the investigation. In November 2023, the agency announced it had seized assets worth ₹7.52 billion (approximately $90 million) in connection with the case, including properties in New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as equity investments.

The National Herald newspaper was founded in 1937 by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. His descendants have led the Congress Party for decades, with Rahul Gandhi being Nehru’s great-grandson.