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ED arrests 2 businessmen in money laundering case against Satyendar Jain

Delhi minister Satyendar Jain.

The two have been taken into custody under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency had raided the two, alleged to be "business associates" of Jain, last month as part of this investigation.

They were placed under arrest following their questioning, officials said.

Earlier on 27 June, a court in Delhi extended Satyendar Jain's judicial custody by two weeks.

Special Judge Geetanjli Goel had passed the order on a plea moved by the ED seeking extension of Jain's custody after the AAP leader, who is hospitalised, appeared through a video conference.

The judge had earlier refused to entertain the plea noting that neither Jain nor any lawyer representing him was present before the court during the proceedings.

After being told that Jain was hospitalised, the court directed the ED to ensure Jain's presence before it later in the day through video conference.

The judge heard the arguments on the agency's plea and extended the politician's judicial custody for 14 days.

The ED had arrested Jain, 57, on May 30 in an alleged money laundering case under criminal sections of PMLA.

Jain is the minister without portfolio in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government.

He was admitted to a city hospital last week after his oxygen level dipped.

So far, the agency has conducted at least two rounds of raids against his family and associates after he was arrested.

It had claimed to have seized "unexplained" cash worth 2.85 crore and 133 gold coins after the first round of raids conducted on June 6 against Satyendar Jain's family and others.

Those raided included Ankush Jain and Vaibhav Jain, Satyendar Jain's wife Poonam Jain, Naveen Jain and Siddharth Jain (directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), G S Matharoo (chairman of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust which runs Prudence group of schools), Yogesh Kumar Jain (director in Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd.), father-in-law of Ankush Jain and Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust.

In April, the ED had attached assets worth 4.81 crore of Satyendar Jain's family and companies "beneficially owned and controlled" by him as part of the probe.

In a statement issued then, the ED had said the provisional order attached "immovable properties worth 4.81 crore belonging to Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd., Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd., Manglayatan Projects Pvt Ltd., J J Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd., Swati Jain, wife of Vaibhav Jain, Sushila Jain, wife of Ajit Prasad Jain, and Indu Jain, wife of Sunil Jain."

Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had defended his minister saying he was as a "hardcore honest and patriot" person who was being framed in a "false case" and hoped he will come out clean after the ED probe.

The probe found, the ED had alleged, that "during the period 2015-16, when Satyendar Kumar Jain was a public servant, the companies beneficially owned and controlled by him received accommodation entries to the tune of 4.81 crore from shell (paper) companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through the hawala route".

"These amounts were utilised for direct purchase of land or for repayment of loan taken for the purchase of agricultural land in and around Delhi," the ED said.

The money laundering case against the AAP minister stems from an August 2017 FIR filed by the CBI against him and others on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets (DA).

A charge sheet was filed by the CBI in December, 2018 stating that the alleged DA was to the tune of 1.47 crore, about 217 per cent more than his known sources of income, during 2015-17.

The Income Tax Department too had probed these transactions and had issued an order attaching "benami assets" allegedly linked to Jain

(With inputs from PTI)

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