The Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has confirmed the attachment of assets worth ₹751.90 crore by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case involving Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and Young Indian.
In November 2023, the ED had provisionally attached the properties of AJL in Delhi, Mumbai, and Lucknow, besides the assets of Young Indian worth ₹90.21 crore in the form of investment in equity shares of AJL.
“AJL was given land on concessional rates in various cities of India for the purpose of publishing newspapers. AJL closed its publishing operations in 2008 and started using the properties for commercial purposes. AJL had to repay a loan of ₹90.21 crore to All India Congress Committee (AICC). However, the AICC treated the said loan of ₹90.21 crore as non-recoverable from AJL and sold it for ₹50 lakh to a newly-incorporated company, Young Indian, without any source of income to even pay ₹50 lakh,” the agency had earlier claimed.
