NEW DELHI, April 16: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi, senior members of the country’s prominent Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, have been formally accused in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), India’s financial crimes agency, according to news agency ANI on Tuesday.

The ED submitted a charge sheet detailing the findings of its investigation to a court in New Delhi. The agency alleged that the Gandhis, who have consistently denied any wrongdoing, created a shell company to unlawfully acquire property valued at $300 million. These assets originally belonged to a firm that published the National Herald newspaper.

The charge sheet also names other members of the main opposition Indian National Congress party, ANI reported.

Congress party spokesperson Jairam Ramesh criticized the move, saying on social media platform X (formerly Twitter): “Filing charge sheets against Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and others is nothing but vendetta politics and intimidation by the Prime Minister.” He added that the Congress party and its leadership "will not be silenced."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Both Rahul and Sonia Gandhi were previously questioned by the ED in 2022 in connection with the case. In November 2023, the agency said it had seized assets worth 7.52 billion rupees (approximately $87.72 million), including properties in New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as equity investments linked to the case.

The National Herald was founded in 1937 by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister. The Congress party has been led by his descendants for decades, with Rahul Gandhi being Nehru’s great-grandson.

In a separate development on Tuesday, the ED also questioned Robert Vadra, Rahul Gandhi’s brother-in-law, in an unrelated investigation concerning alleged irregularities in land deals from 2008, during a time when a Congress-led coalition was in power, local media reported.

“There is nothing in the case,” Vadra told reporters before appearing at the ED office. “Whenever I speak for minorities or consider joining politics, they misuse the authorities,” he added.