The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday alleged before a Delhi court that Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi wanted to siphon off Rs 2,000 crore from Associated Journals Limited, the company that once published the National Herald newspaper, The Indian Express reported.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the agency, told a Delhi court that the Congress gave an interest-free loan of Rs 90 crore to Associated Journals Limited for a consideration of Rs 50 lakhs. The agency alleged that the debt was converted into equity in favour of not-for-profit firm Young Indian, in which the Gandhis held a 76% share.

“A company by the name of AJL…was not making profit but it had assets worth Rs 2,000 crores,” Raju told the court, according to The Indian Express. “How come they didn’t have 90 crores to repay the loan? Any prudent person would’ve sold their assets to repay the loans.”

The Enforcement Directorate, which is looking into money-laundering allegations linked to the case, alleged a conspiracy to form Young Indian to illegally take over the Associated Journals Limited’s assets, India Today reported. This was done through “fake transactions” in which several Congress leaders were involved and a Rs 90 crore loan to the company from the party, the Enforcement Directorate added.

Raju further alleged that the Congress aimed to “usurp” Associated Journals Limited. “The conspiracy was the creation of Young India to siphon away Rs 2,000 crore in exchange for a 90 crore loan. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi wanted to take over this company,” India Today quoted Raju as having said.

The Enforcement Directorate filed its chargesheet in the case on April 9. This came after the central agency’s move to seize properties worth Rs 661 crore linked to the case in Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow.

The allegations

In April 2008, the National Herald, which was founded and edited by Jawaharlal Nehru before he became India’s first prime minister, suspended operations as it had incurred a debt of over Rs 90 crore.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy filed a complaint against the newspaper in 2012, alleging that Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi set up Young Indian Private Limited to buy the debt using the funds from the party.

Swamy alleged that Young Indian paid only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.2 crore that the Associated Journals Limited owed to the Congress.

The Congress has claimed that there was no money exchange, and that only debt was converted into equity to pay off certain dues including employee salaries.