Court Challenges ED’s Money Laundering Case Against Sonia and Rahul Gandhi
Court Questions ED’s Money Laundering Probe
A Delhi court has expressed skepticism about the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering case against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, questioning the agency’s focus on share issuance in the National Herald case.
The court questioned the ED’s stance, stating, ‘Are the shares not the soul of the scheduled offence? Why should the shares be seen as an overlapping?… the issuance of shares itself is the crux of the scheduled offence.’
The ED’s counsel, Hossain, argued that the agency would demonstrate how the conspiracy unfolded in the case. He emphasized that focusing solely on share issuance presented a limited perspective, adding, ‘To see this entire thing from the narrow perspective of issuance of some shares may not be…it is not just some shares have been issued and that is the narrow aspect.’
Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering
However, the court asserted that identifying the proceeds of crime is crucial for alleging money laundering. It clarified that not every action by a company involved in a scheduled offence automatically constitutes money laundering.
The judge explained, ‘Scheduled offence is the trigger, the condition precedent for money laundering. But there is no equivalence so that once there is the scheduled offence, you superimpose that on Section 4 [money laundering] and everything that goes under the scheduled offence must necessarily be proceeds of crime. Not every activity of the company which may have committed a scheduled offence will be money laundering.’
The court ultimately instructed the counsel to address these concerns on the next hearing, stating, ‘You can come back on it. The hurdle of proceeds of crime will have to be addressed,’
